Increased Demand for Dam Safety Expertise – NGI Establishes a Dedicated Department for Dam Safety
Climate change, high safety requirements, new knowledge, and a backlog in maintenance mean that many dams, both domestically and internationally, need new safety assessments and upgrades. NGI – the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute has now established a dedicated department for dam safety.
Great interest and demand from partners have led NGI – the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute to establish a dedicated department focused on dam safety. ( Adobestock)
"Significant interest and demand from our partners led us to establish a dedicated department working on dam safety recently," says Arnkjell Løkke, Head of the Dam Safety Department at NGI.
The work of ensuring dam safety has evolved with better material understanding and the use of advanced numerical models and probability calculations. For NGI, geosciences are their niche. NGI's expertise includes risk assessments, monitoring and remote sensing, advanced numerical calculations, and materials testing in NGI's laboratories in Oslo, Houston, and Perth.
"Dams are unique structures because geosciences are often the focus. To see the bigger picture, we need to understand both geotechnics, geology, and geohazards," says Løkke.
Designed for Extreme Events
From the 1960s, hundreds of dams were planned and built in Norway, with NGI leading many of these projects. These dams have been maintained and reassessed regularly due to increasingly strict regulations.
"Since the 1960s, NGI has designed and supervised the construction of over 100 embankment dams in Norway and abroad. In recent decades, we haven't had a dedicated dam department at NGI, but now we want to gather the expertise again and focus on dam safety," says Løkke.
The dam safety regulations, which outline the requirements for Norwegian dam facilities, are expected to be revised soon. The regulations are strict.
"Dams are critical structures, and the consequences if something goes wrong are enormous. Generally, dams are designed for extreme events, such as a thousand-year flood. This allows time to implement necessary measures to ensure dams can also handle future climate conditions," says Løkke.
Expertise in Dams
Many of NGI's current assignments in dam safety are international.
"We have recently conducted risk assessments of over 25 large dam structures in Norway, Sweden, Peru, India, Albania, Scotland, France, and Canada," says Løkke.
As the world's tallest dam, the Rogun Dam, at 335 meters, is being built in Tajikistan. NGI provides expert advice on dam safety and instrumentation and actively participates in international forums related to dam safety.
"We sit on several expert panels related to mine dams, the International Tailings Review Board (ITRB), and we are active in the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), where we represent Norway in the technical committees on dam safety, earthquakes, and mine dams," says Løkke.
Former NGI Managing Director Kaare Høeg was ICOLD President from 1997-2000.
