2023 Dam Safety Program
Special Areas & Cypress Regions | Ducks Unlimited Canada
Our client, Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), has a mission to ensure our wetlands and their associated ecosystems can support future generations. As part of their work in habitat conservation, DUC operates hundreds of dams throughout Canada. Journey Engineering (Journey) was engaged to conduct Dam Safety Reviews (DSRs) on 11 “Significant” consequence dams owned and operated by DUC, in accordance with the Alberta Dam and Canal Safety Directive and the Canadian Dam Association (CDA) Guidelines. The dams, which are located throughout the Special Areas and Cypress regions of Alberta, primarily provide wildlife habitat, but also water storage for livestock and agriculture.
Optimizing the Use of Time and Funding while Delivering a Quality Product
A DSR involves a comprehensive review of the integrity of the dam and the robustness of the dam owner’s safety management system. This process often includes hydrologic and hydrotechnical assessments, geotechnical evaluations, and audits of the safety management systems in place for the dam. To optimize resources and ensure efficiency, Journey devised a two-phased approach for assessing each dam. Phase I involved background review, engineering inspection, and consequence classification re-assessment. Based on the results of Phase I, Journey determined the level of effort commensurate with the consequences of failure for each of the 11 dam sites and used this to guide our execution of the remaining scope. By using this approach, we were able to provide significant value for our client while delivering a quality product.
