| World news US Millions in funding awarded for dam safety and repair works
The US Department of the Interior has received an investment of $240.4 million for infrastructure repairs in fiscal year 2022 from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with the Biden Adminstration, through FEMA, also committing $33 million for two funding opportunities to enhance dam safety efforts across the US. To be facilitated through the Bureau of Reclamation, the infrastructure repair work will include significant repairs on canal linings, dam spillways and water pipeline replacements The funding is to be allocated to 46 projects in 11 states to repair
water delivery systems. Among these are large projects to conduct canal repairs in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming, dam spillway repairs in Kansas, pipeline repairs in Utah and investments in a pumping plant in Montana. Projects in Colorado, Oregon and Washington are also being funded. “The Bureau of Reclamation, in partnership with states and local
water districts receiving municipal water and irrigation water from federally-owned projects, is responsible for much of the water infrastructure in the West,” said Acting Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner David Palumbo. “These water systems work because of this federal to non-federal partnership, and this funding will help to complete necessary extraordinary maintenance keeping projects viable and partnerships strong.” Reclamation concluded the initial application period for these funds on January 31, 2022. The second application period for extraordinary maintenance funding is planned for October 2022. For the dam safety funding, the Rehabilitation of High Hazard
Potential Dams program is making $22 million available with another approximately $11 million available through the National Dam Safety State Assistance Grant Program. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing $6.8
billion that FEMA will invest in communitywide resilience to reduce disaster suffering and avoid future disaster costs, including $733 million in dam safety grants over the next five years. “Aging and deteriorating dams in America cannot compete with the impacts of climate change,” said FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. “With the increase of both extreme storms and downstream populations, the safety of America’s dams is paramount to the resilience of our neighborhoods. FEMA is committed to providing funding dedicated to maintaining and strengthening dams that pose severe risks to vulnerable communities.” The application period for the fiscal year 2022 funding opportunities opened on 16 May with a deadline of 15 July 2022. Grants through the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams
program are available to non-federal governments and nonprofits for technical, planning, design and construction assistance to rehabilitate eligible high hazard potential dams. Eligible non-federal dams should be located in a state or territory with a dam safety program and classified as high hazard potential by the dam safety agency in the state or territory where the dam is located. Dams that have a current, approved emergency action plan by the state or territorial dam safety agency and fail to meet minimum dam safety standards of the state or territory or poses an unacceptable risk to the public are included. The State Assistance Grant Program provides funds to establish and maintain effective state programs that ensure dam safety and protect human life and property. In a state or territory with an enacted dam safety program, the state administrative agency or an equivalent state agency is eligible to apply. Each eligible state or territory may submit only one grant application.
US
Final forensic report released on Michigan dam failures The independent forensic team (IFT) investigating the failures of the Edenville and Sanford Dams in Michigan, US, on 19 May 2020 has released its final forensic report, finding that the physical mechanism of the failure of Edenville Dam was static liquefaction (sudden loss of soil strength) in a section of the embankment, which resulted in instability failure of the downstream slope and then breach of the reservoir through the dam. The report also addresses the characteristics of the flood and other factors that contributed to the failures, and looks at ways the event could have been prevented. The report says that static liquefaction
occurred when Wixom Lake reached a level that was about 3 feet higher than the previous high level which occurred in 1929. When Edenville Dam failed, the resulting downstream flooding caused overtopping failure of Sanford Dam. It highlights issues with the limited opening of the spillway gates at Edenville, and suggests that the dam failures were foreseeable and preventable with respect to the human judgments, decisions, actions, and inactions during the project history leading up to the May 2020 event.
You can view the full report via the Association of Dam Safety Officials website.
Commonwealth Sustainable hydropower in Commonwealth countries boosted with new partnership The Commonwealth Secretariat and the International Hydropower Association (IHA) have signed an agreement that is set to advance sustainable hydropower in member countries, in line with the Commonwealth Sustainable Energy Transition Agenda. A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by the Commonwealth Secretary- General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, and the CEO of IHA, Eddie Rich, outlines several key areas of cooperation to help Commonwealth countries reach their sustainability goals. These include promoting policies that support investments in sustainable hydropower; encouraging the use of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard to certify environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance; and enhancing access to green finance for new projects. The MOU also enables both parties to share
information about training opportunities and new technologies, while exploring innovative joint projects with a range of stakeholders through the Commonwealth Innovation Hub. “There is a great deal of untapped potential
in renewable sources of energy within the Commonwealth, including hydropower. Harnessing renewable energy is central to our efforts to achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Paris Agreement on climate change,” said Secretary- General Scotland. “This partnership offers our organisations the opportunity to leverage our combined networks and extensive expertise to enhance the role of hydropower in achieving decarbonisation goals, enhancing energy security, and boosting sustainable development in the Commonwealth.” “The Commonwealth represents such a
broad spectrum of countries that we believe we can help in terms of understanding how hydropower can be implemented on a very wide level,” added President of IHA, Roger Gill. “IHA represents one third of the installed capacity of hydropower in the entire globe. Our members operate in some 120 countries, with experience that stems back to the beginning of establishing hydropower. We think we can bring
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