Risk Management : Best Practices and Risk Methodology (Best Practices in Dam and Levee Safety Risk Analysis)

The Bureau of Reclamation has been using risk analysis as the primary support for dam safety decision-making for about 15 years, and has developed procedures to analyze risks for a multitude of potential failure modes. Manuals, guidelines, standards, and practical reference material on how to perform risk analysis for dam safety applications are lacking. The Best Practices Training Manual contains what are considered the "Best Practices" currently in use for estimating dam safety risks at the Bureau of Reclamation. Risk analysis at the Bureau of Reclamation has evolved over the years and will continue to evolve. Therefore, updates to this manual are planned in the future as significant improvements are developed.

Please note that these documents are intended to serve as instruction material during the training course of the same name and should not be used as a stand-alone reference. In many cases, additional details should be sought from the available references or an experienced risk analyst.