Planning & projects | Project perspectives
US collaboration, the role of artificial intelligence, Australian farm dams, Indonesian databases and Canadian watersheds are all featured here in IWP&DC’s global report
THE US ARMY CORPS of Engineers and the US Bureau of Reclamation pride themselves on having a long history of collaboration in evaluating, constructing, operating, and maintaining water infrastructure projects. In addition they also share management responsibilities at major facilities. The two agencies’ combined water-related infrastructure consists of 1200 dams, 5000 recreational areas, 152 hydropower plants that power 10 million homes, plus water storage provision for 130 million people.
Below: The US Army Corps of Engineers’ John Day Dam on the Columbia River, showing an Indian fishing platform, the spillways, fish ladder and navigation locks in Oregon
With modern day water resource challenges unlike anything witnessed before, the Army Corps and Reclamation say they are committed to constructing infrastructure projects that will strengthen the US economy, protect people and property, and restore key ecosystems. In an effort to achieve this, both organisations have recently made record investments in critical water resource construction projects and in developing innovative approaches to address the most pressing challenges. They’ve also collaborated on the publication of “State of the Infrastructure: A Joint Report by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers”, which provides a high- level overview of the infrastructure asset portfolio and related asset management practices, collaboration efforts, and future strategies. “We are at a critical moment in our history with a once-in-a-generation investment in our nation’s civil works infrastructure,” said USACE Director of Civil Works Edward Belk, Jr. “Together, we can provide the most efficient and effective solutions to promote safety, economic well-being, and the environment in the West and across the country.” As well as focusing on hydropower and dam facilities, the report also looked at levees. The Army
Corps Levee Safety Programme portfolio includes 1599 levee systems totalling over 21,400km in length. Of these, local sponsors operate and maintain 1470 levee systems that make up roughly 92 percent of the portfolio, with the remaining systems being operated and maintained by the Army Corps. Challenges facing the portfolio of levees include: Changing flood conditions, magnitudes, frequencies, and increased population density can increase risk. Resources are increasingly focused on reacting to and recovering from significant natural catastrophic events. Effectively communicating risk to the public. Increasing maintenance and replacement costs. If unaddressed, deferred maintenance may result in additional levee safety issues. Carefully balancing levee safety while minimising impacts to the environment.
Facility security was another component focused upon within the report. Increasing cybersecurity risks to critical infrastructure has demanded greater investments to secure operational technology control systems. Reclamation says it has actively integrated security into its facility management practices by developing and implementing a comprehensive risk assessment programme that encompasses infrastructure, information, and personnel. It also actively engages with the Army Corps in a variety of forums to ensure consistent policies and strategies for infrastructure protection. These forums help the greater dams sector community to facilitate resilience of integrated water systems throughout the US. Due to increasing cyber terrorism, the Army Corps
created the US Army Corps of Engineers Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity Centre of Expertise (UCIC), to help identify and combat cyber risk to operational technology control systems. The UCIC and Reclamation collaborate extensively, along with other federal agencies, on operational technology initiatives to improve threat detection and prevention capabilities.
Looking ahead, the two agencies identify evolving influences on US infrastructure which include: Increases and shifts in population that result in changing water supply and power needs, new demands, changes in potential consequences that affect risk management strategies, and ongoing updates to facility security measures. Changes in the magnitudes and frequencies of hydrologic events, resulting in the potential for greater damages to exposed areas and a need for continued and improved monitoring and response capabilities so that water-related infrastructure can provide the Nation with vital benefits long into the future.
24 | April 2024 |
www.waterpowermagazine.com
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