Committees and Interest Groups

ASDSO has several committees, interest groups, task forces, and work groups that meet throughout the year and work towards building a stronger dam and levee safety community.

  • Committees are small groups of volunteers executing ASDSO’s strategic initiatives via a Board‐approved annual plan. Committee members actively work, resulting in tangible, valuable resources each year.
  • Subcommittees, at the direction of the Committee Chair/Co‐Chair, come together to work on Committee projects as needed.
  • Task Forces/Groups are volunteers working together on narrow‐issue projects for ASDSO. Task Forces convene for a particular period to work on the project. 
  • Interest Groups bring together like‐minded colleagues to connect, learn and lead the organization toward success. ASDSO Interest Groups offer peer‐to‐peer networking, problem‐solving, solution sharing, and education. 

ASDSO frequently seeks volunteers at all levels, from assisting with small tasks and virtual participation to committee and leadership positions. To see current opportunities, visit the 'Volunteer Opportunities' page on Collaborate.

Committees 

Advisory Committee (AdCom)

The AdCom is a technical advisory committee made up of private sector members. The ASDSO Board of Directors chooses members.

Annual Awards Committee

The committee's mission is to recognize dam safety engineering excellence and innovation. The committee reviews the National Rehabilitation Project of the Year nominations and helps facilitate awards, award criteria, and distribution. 

Annual Conference Program Committee

Develops program and activities for ASDSO's Annual Conference.

Committee on Career Development and Student Outreach

The committee's mission is to develop and promote programs that stimulate interest in dam safety to increase the number of professionals specializing in dam engineering and dam safety and satisfy the long-term demand for qualified engineers working in dam safety fields.

Dam Failure & Incidents Committee

The committee's mission is to assist the States and other ASDSO members in improving the practice of investigating and learning from dam failures and incidents.

Dam Owner Outreach Committee

The committee's mission is to assist states with owner outreach and education, including developing workshops, tools, and guidelines.

Dam Safety Toolbox Committee

The mission of the committee is to identify, consolidate, and disseminate industry utilized design and construction information for dams that meets the standard of care through the use of the DamToolbox.org website.

Extreme Precipitation Investigation Committee

The mission of this committee includes: (1) Support ASDSO communications with media requests regarding climate change and extreme precipitation impacts on dams. (2) Represent state dam safety programs, dam owners, the dam engineering community, the hydrometeorological community, academia, and affiliated organizations during the upcoming NOAA PMP modernization project.  (3) Lobby for Federally developed Precipitation Frequency estimating tools to very rare exceedance probabilities to enable risk assessments for high hazard dams. 

Finance Committee

The mission of this committee is to oversee the financial management and fundraising programs of ASDSO.

Media Outreach Committee

The committee's mission is to assist ASDSO in considering long-term communication goals and policies and internally preparing the association and its spokespeople to produce timely and effective messaging.

Peer Review Committee

The committee's mission is to oversee, evaluate, and improve the Peer Review Program. The objective of an ASDSO Peer Review is to provide professional guidance to improve the performance and management of dam safety programs.

Public Safety Around Dams Committee

The committee's mission is to promote measures that enhance public safety associated with all dams and their operations.

Tailings Dam Regulatory Committee

The mission of the Tailings Dam Regulatory Committee is to lead the implementation of tailings dam-related aspects of the ASDSO Strategic Plan, including the development of guidance for state programs on the unique aspects of tailings dam regulation, technical aspects of tailings dam design, operation, and closure that affect safety, support state programs that regulate tailings dams, and other related work.

Technical Journal Editorial Committee

Committee members select and review papers for ASDSO's quarterly Journal of Dam Safety.

Technical Training Committee

The committee's mission is to support ASDSO's strategic goals of improving state dam safety programs and increasing the technical expertise of dam safety professionals and owners/operators by developing and delivering high-quality and accessible training opportunities.

Interest Groups

Legislative Activities Interest Group

Interest group members act as key contacts to educate federal and state officials about legislative reforms needed to promote and improve dam safety in the U.S. Learn More

Speakers Bureau

The ASDSO Speakers Bureau comprises volunteers with experience and expertise in dam engineering, best practices, dam safety, and public education. Volunteers make presentations before student and community groups to raise awareness of careers in dam engineering and of dam safety issues, including the safety of dams and safety around dams, and to provide general education on the role of dams in society.

Young Professionals Interest Group

The Young Professionals (YP) Interest Group works to engage professionals 35 years old and under in the dam safety community through ASDSO participation and service.

 

Additional Resources
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