This Bulletin recalls that dam surveillance is a continuous and structured process essential to dam safety. It goes beyond the mere collection of measurements, combining visual inspection, instrumentation, performance analysis and data interpretation within a risk-management approach. In a context of ageing infrastructure, increasing climate-related stresses and growing accountability requirements, high-quality surveillance information is essential to detect anomalies early, identify potential failure modes and support reliable decisions.
The Bulletin also stresses the need to improve the entire chain of dam performance monitoring data management, from instrument installation and maintenance to data collection, transfer, storage, cleaning, validation and visualization. Modern technologies — ADAS, telemetry, fibre optics, LiDAR, InSAR, GIS and interactive dashboards — can strengthen surveillance, provided they complement rather than replace engineering judgment, field experience and team expertise. The ultimate goal is to turn sometimes incomplete or uncertain data into reliable, intelligible, and useful information for safer, more sustainable management of dam safety..