Managing a State's Worth of Dam Data

Meron Batayeh, PE, Principal Engineer, Hazen and Sawyer


Alabama is the only state in the United States without a state dam safety program. While considering this, lawmakers in the state requested a Dam Safety Survey and Evaluation Study to better understand the quantity and quality of dams in the state. The yearlong study focused on three metro-Birmingham counties, Jefferson, Shelby, and Tuscaloosa, and was completed in 2024. This presentation will provide a brief review of the methodologies and challenges encountered in completing the distinct tasks that made up the overall study, with a primary focus on the statewide dam inventory. To create the updated statewide dam inventory, Hazen first worked to develop a spatial and tabular based methodology to merge over 17,000 dam records gathered from multiple county, state, and national sources, including the National Inventory of Dams, into a single dataset. Hazen then utilized two novel methods to locate dams that were not already documented in the database. One of these methods relied on ESRI’s Deep Learning program that was trained to process available imagery to identify points that may correspond to dams. With this trained model, creating a dataset of potential dams in the state became an automated process that can then be confirmed through aerial imagery and other available information.  The second dam identification method utilized hydrologic information available from the National Hydrography Dataset to generate dam points where flowlines exit waterbodies. Other distinct tasks in this Study included:
  • Performing visual assessment of 80 dams
  • Developing a standard visual inspection form for use by dam owners in the state
  • Developing 300 dam breach inundation zones using DSS-WISE Lite
  • Completing 3 dam breach models in HEC-RAS 2D
  • Creating an Emergency Action Plan (EAP) template for use by owners in the state
  • Completing EAPs for 3 specific dams
The information gathered from other parts of the study also helped to verify key dam features and update missing or incorrectly listed attributes particularly having to do with dam hazard classification and other key dam attributes, like exact location, in the updated inventory.

Author Bio

Meron is a water resources engineer has led dams regulatory compliance, program management, and emergency planning services projects, primarily in the Southeast. As a modeler and utility data management specialist, Meron is highly proficient in a variety of programs that are useful for water resources data collection, processing, and modeling including the ESRI suite (ArcGIS Pro/ArcMap, ArcGIS Online, Survey123, Field Maps), HEC programs (HEC-HMS, HEC-RAS, HEC-ResSim), OASIS, and PowerBI.