Precision is the backbone of engineering, but what if it’s also a barrier

ABSTRACT ONLY - Most dams in operation are several decades old and have not been designed with today's rapidly changing downstream hazard profiles in mind. Consequently, the focus of dam safety programs has shifted from evaluating new dam designs to the maintenance and reassessment of existing structures. This transition underscores the necessity for a comprehensive, up-to-date inventory of dams, detailed data pertaining to downstream hazards, and regular thorough inspections. Unfortunately, the overly complex and narrowly focused datasets developed initially for design purposes often complicate these efforts, hindering a system-wide understanding of risks To tackle this issue, we are implementing an automated methodology to generate actionable insights across all dams, emphasizing the broader environmental context and the potential impact area rather than solely concentrating on individual dams. Our approach facilitates rapid screening and prioritization, empowering Dam Safety Officers (DSOs) to focus on the dams that pose the most substantial risks. This is particularly essential in emergencies. For example, during Hurricane Helene, responders could only evaluate three to five dams due to time and resource constraints, illustrating the significant challenges DSOs face while managing thousands of dams under resource limitations. To effectively scale this method in regions like North Carolina, which comprises over 7,000 dams, we avoid the pitfalls of complex hydrologic models that necessitate manual data entry for each structure. Instead, we utilize a process that automates the potential of flooding corresponding to the accuracy of two-dimensional models based on the shallow water equations. These models are not designed for engineering or structural analysis; instead, they provide crucial insights for identifying patterns and risks across extensive geographical landscapes. When considering large inventories like those in North Carolina or even smaller datasets comprising hundreds of dams, grasping cumulative risk becomes a daunting task without a regional, high-throughput methodology. This new approach represents a critical evolution in dam safety practices, calibrated to meet the increasing complexity of hazard landscapes.