| Planning & projects
Obtaining reliable and comprehensive data can be challenging, while privacy concerns, proprietary data, and regulatory restrictions, also mean that sharing dam data can be difficult. This is why collaborative efforts among dam owners, operators, and researchers are crucial and the establishment of data-sharing protocols, frameworks, and platforms that ensure confidentiality and comply with regulations can facilitate the responsible and secure exchange of data. As the authors state, it is important for the dam engineering community to recognise the value and benefits of data sharing and actively work towards overcoming the barriers associated with accessibility.
While machine learning models can be highly
accurate, the lack of interpretability of the models can be a concern and engineers and stakeholders need to understand how AI systems work to be able to make informed decisions. While there are also ethical and legal issues associated with the use of AI in dam engineering. From a regulatory standpoint, it is essential for AI-based applications to conform to safety standards, environmental regulations, and other relevant guidelines specific to dam construction, operation, and maintenance. Ethically, it is important to handle sensitive and confidential data securely and in a manner that preserves privacy, while ensuring transparency and accountability in AI systems will help to mitigate potential biases and discriminatory outcomes.
Although AI has the potential to improve dam engineering processes, the authors warn that it is not a substitute for human expertise. Engineers must be actively involved in the development and implementation of AI systems to ensure their effectiveness and safety. In addition, implementing AI in dam engineering can be costly, and ensuring that it is accessible to all organisations and governments is essential to ensure its widespread adoption and benefits.
Looking to the future, the authors recommend that further research is needed to better understand the potential applications of AI in dam engineering and to develop new algorithms and techniques specifically tailored to the needs of this field. Efforts should be made to improve the quality and availability of data in dam engineering, including data on dam behaviour, hydrological conditions, and environmental factors. While algorithmic transparency and ethical considerations should be a key priority when developing AI applications in dam engineering, with a particular focus on ensuring that AI systems are fair, unbiased, and transparent.
Under pressure
In Canada, British Colombia’s watersheds are described as being under severe pressure. Three consecutive years of drought culminated in 2023 with the worst drought and fire season in the province’s history, which followed the devastating floods of 2021 that cost nearly C$9 billion. Climate impacts are combining with decades of watershed degradation to reduce the security of communities and ecosystems, and there is now both a critical need and a vital opportunity to grow and develop BC’s watershed sector to meet the challenges it faces.
Already a significant piece of BC’s economy, in 2021 the watershed sector was directly employing 27, 200 people and supporting jobs for 47,900 British Columbians. It also contributed C$5 billion to the province’s GDP. There is a vast opportunity for the private sector to act as leaders in addressing needs and translating opportunities into action, while at the same time managing business risk associated with water and other climate impacts. Led by strategic consulting firm Delphi, the newly published Working for Watersheds Roadmap is a blueprint that lays out a strategic vision for how development of the province’s watershed sector over the next 5-10 years. It is a collaboration, with input from industry, government, First Nations, and non-profit organisations, including the Vancouver Foundation, BC Freshwater Legacy Initiative, Royal Bank of Canada, Real Estate Foundation of BC, and the BC Ministry of Water, Lands & Resource Stewardship. The Roadmap is structured into Streams of Action
that are working towards advancing the BC watershed sector towards a thriving and regenerative economy by 2030. Existing literature, expert feedback, and a suite of engagement activities were used to identify the critical activities and recommended actions within each stream. The streams include building sector profile and
awareness by engaging internal and external partners, as well as conduct further research to identify linkages between water and other priorities such as climate resilience, energy and infrastructure. Others include sustainable funding, policy and governance, workforce development, plus growing innovation capacity to support technology development, commercialisation and deployment of solutions. The roadmap is described as a call to action for people, organisations, and water users across the sector to work together for healthy and resilient watersheds that are not only vital for economy and society, but watershed security as a critical part of climate resilience. As the roadmap concludes, a thriving watershed
sector is an integral component of a distributive and regenerative economy. “Working for Watersheds is a collective effort that is gaining momentum,” it states. “The time, ideas, energy, and resources contributed are like raindrops slowly trickling down and ultimately combining in a flowing river.”
Above: View of Millard-Piercy watershed stewards counting weir which is used for counting seaward migrating smolts on Piercy Creek in British Columbia in Canada. The Working for Watersheds Roadmap is a blueprint that lays out a strategic vision for development of BC’s watershed sector over the next 5-10 years
References
State of the Infrastructure A Joint Report by the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. February 2024.
www.usbr.gov
Continental-scale assessment of micro-pumped hydro energy storage using agricultural reservoirs by Nicholas Gilmore, Thomas Britz, Erik Maartensson, Carlo Orbegoso-Jordan, Sebastian Schroder, Martino Malerba. Applied Energy Volume 349,1 November 2023, 121715.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. apenergy.2023.121715
Yuen, K.W.; Park, E.;Hazrina, M.; Taufik, M.; Santikayasa, P.; Latrubesse, E.; Lee, J.S.H. A Comprehensive Database of Indonesian Dams and Its Spatial Distribution. Remote Sens. 2023, 15, 925. https://doi. org/10.3390/rs15040925
The role of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in dam engineering: Narrative review and outlook by M. Amin Hariri- Ardebili, Golsa Mahdavi, Larry K. Nuss, Upmanu Lall. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence 126 (2023) 106813
https://doi.org/10.1016/j. engappai.2023.106813
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