| Spotlight
Large Dams (ICOLD), has seen its membership surge from 980 in 2001 to over 1,600 in 2024. Its conference attendance has similarly increased, from 270 attendees in 2001 to 1,000 attendees in 2024. Dina Hunt, current president of the USSD, has observed a steady increase in membership since joining the board of directors in 2019. “USSD’s growth mirrors trends in the dam industry and has been remarkable,” Hunt said. “Challenges such as climate change and more extreme weather patterns are putting increasing pressure on our water infrastructure, bringing heightened awareness to the importance of dams. This awareness is driving funding and keeping dam professionals hard at work.”
International market growth Data is currently unknown for engineering firms
working on dams and reservoirs outside of the U.S. market, but one person who believes similar growth trends are occurring around the world is Mike Rogers. Mike is Stantec’s global technical practice leader for dams, and has formerly served as ICOLD’s vice president (Americas) and president, and has witnessed the global priorities of nations focus on adding renewable hydropower to meet the skyrocketing water and power needs of their populations and industries. Stantec has seen its annual revenues in the dams market surge from $25.5 million in 1998, to $171.3 million in 2023.
“Dams have been a cornerstone of nations for over 100 years for water, power and flood control,” Rogers said, “But their role in sustainable development of national water resources has never been a higher priority than in the last 10 to 20 years. Mature, industrialized nations are maintaining and extending the lives of existing dams and hydropower, and developing countries are racing to add new projects. These projects include small to massive structures and systems designed to manage resources for irrigation, expand water supply storage and extend power grids to ever-growing populations. We’re scrambling as an industry to continue creating safe and reliable dams, which are critical elements of our water infrastructure.”
Reasons for market expansion The reasons for the rapid increase in this market appear
to be multifold, and include water supply concerns and shifting hydrologic systems, aging infrastructure, and increased interest in renewable energy.
Water supply and shifting hydrologic
systems Dr. George Annandale, who has been monitoring global reservoir storage and sedimentation issues for decades, found that global water storage peaked in the 1980s and has been on the decline since this peak, which correlates to a dramatic slowdown in the construction of dams worldwide. “Rivers have the greatest potential for sustainable development of freshwater resources, but hydrologic variability, which will increase in the future as the effects of climate change sets in, requires dams and reservoir to capture water during high flows for use during dry periods,” Annandale said. “The available global net storage is continually decreasing even with the construction of new dams. Globally, about 1% of reservoir storage is lost every year because
5000 4500 4000 3500 3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0
1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040
of sedimentation, which is more storage than we’re currently adding through the construction of new dams. What is even more alarming, is that the combined effects of reservoir storage loss due to sedimentation and continued global population growth results in the amount of reservoir storage per person drastically decreasing on an annual basis. We’re now essentially in the same situation as we were in the 1960’s.” Figure 2 shows global net reservoir storage as estimated by Annandale.
However, since the 1980’s the global population has nearly doubled, from around 4.5 billion to over 8.2 billion. At the same time, reservoirs have continued to infill with sediments. This double-edged sword has created a dramatic reduction in the per capita global net reservoir storage. The global per capita net reservoir storage peaked in 1980 at just under 900m3
,
and in 2023 it is estimated that this same storage is approximately 500m3
. This is a reduction of almost 50%
and likely the first time in modern human history where per capita reservoir storage has declined. If the current rate of decline continues, currently between 50m3 100m3
and
every 10 years, per capita reservoir storage will soon be at levels not seen since the 1950’s. This trend is unsustainable and must be addressed in the form of additional storage. There is no substitute for water and its redundancy, especially when there are significant disruptions or threats to its supply, is a priority for all humanity. Hydrologic systems are also shifting. In the Western US, the hydrologic system, like many others around the world, relies on a simple cycle. The Western US hydrologic cycle begins with snowfall in the mountains during winter months, capturing this snowmelt
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1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060
Above: Figure 2 – Global net reservoir storage constructed since 1900 (km3
), Annandale
Below: Figure 3 – Global net reservoir storage per capita: 1950 to 2050 (m3
), Annandale
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