Press Release

Dam Failure in Laos

The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) is following the situation very closely as information is just coming out about the collapse of the saddle dam at the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Hydroelectric Dam, in Laos.

ICOLD newly elected President Michael Rogers made the following statement:

“Our deepest condolences go out to the people of Laos impacted by this tragedy, especially those families who have lost loved ones and/or their homes.

Dams are critical pieces of not only physical, but also socio-economic infrastructure that supply renewable power, storage for agricultural, industrial, municipal and community water supply. Like other large infrastructure in our societies, dams provide critical service, but also pose high risks that must be addressed during the planning, design and construction phases.   The precautionary principle of dams to prevent and/or mitigate adverse downstream safety consequences informs and is at the heart of the ICOLD Mission.

ICOLD has been working for 90 years to promote the safe and sustainable design and construction of dams.  As an organization of 100 nations committed to the safety of all dams around the world, ICOLD stands ready to assist and support the project owner and the national dam safety organization in Laos to assess the situation and work towards recovery.  Moving forward, it will be important to understand the full cause of this apparent failure so that important lessons may be shared with other nations and dam owners. This is the heart of ICOLD mission and the main reason why it was founded.  For example, during its recent Congress in Vienna (July 1-7 2018), ICOLD organized an important open workshop on the lessons learned from the Oroville Spillway Incident (USA, 2017).

Again, our heartfelt condolences go out to the thousands of persons downstream of this dam that have been impacted by this tragedy and ICOLD stands ready to support Laos in any way possible.”

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Dams and Sustainability

Committee T of ICOLD has planned a series of webinars dedicated to the sustainability of dams in their full life cycle. The first webinar aimed to define the content and what should be addressed in the development of future work. The video of this Webinar#1 is now available here.

DAMS & SUSTAINABILITY ICOLD Webinar #1 - 29/05/2024

PROGRAM

• Webinar presentation Michel Lino (President of ICOLD)
• Introduction. Objectives & Purpose Luc Deroo (ICOLD TC-T) Francisco Ortega (ICOLD TC-P)
• The framework: SDGs Francisco Ortega (ICOLD TC-P)
• Dams and the environment (social and ecological aspects beyond CHG) Peter Amos (ICOLD TC-G)
• The sustainability of concrete dams Marco Conrad (ICOLD TC-D)
• The LCA method. An example Joachim Verdier (Lhoist Group)
• Accounting externalities and short/long term analysis Lamis Aljounaidi (PIA)
• Various levels of ambition, perimeters and metrics Luc Deroo (ICOLD TC-T)
• Q&A Session
• Moderation Steve Usher (HP&D)

!! NEW !! Webinar #2 just released - 07 May 2025

This second Webinar is intended to introduce the general principles of a Life Cycle Sustainability Assessment (LCSA) methodology. The LCSA comprises not only environmental LCA, but also social and economic life cycle cost assessment. ICOLD has invited a distinguished group of experts to present the key components of the LCSA and examples of how it is applied in other sectors, with the aim of adapting it to dams and reservoirs.

The webinar features the following presentations:

• Webinar presentation - Luc Deroo & Francisco Ortega (TC-T of ICOLD)
• General introduction to LCSA with a focus on dam-specific aspects - Sonia Valdivia (World Resources Forum)
• Sustainability criteria from the perspective of funding institutions - Nicholas Zmijewski (World Bank)
• Tools and methods of the Hydropower Sustainability Standard (HSS) that are applicable to dams and reservoirs - Kimberly Lyon (World Bank / HSA Council Chair)
• Sustainability framework for earthworks - Jean-Pierre Magnan (EU Working Group on Sustainable Earthworks)
• Life cycle cost assessment of dams - Alena Raymond (AmSpec)
• Biodiversity footprint and LCA: Case studies and analyses - Bonaventure Fontanier (EDF)
• Social Life Cycle Assessment (S-LCA): An example from the mining sector - Isabel Wolf (Technical University of Berlin)

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United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, following consultations with the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), wrote to the President of the General Assembly requesting the General Assembly to confirm Achim Steiner of Germany as the new Administrator of UNDP for a term of four years. The General Assembly confirmed the nomination on 19 April.

The 55-year-old Brazil-born German citizen has been in the trenches of environmental activism since before his service at the UN, including work with the Washington-based International Union for Conservation of Nature.

He’s even devoted his professional life – for example, while working as secretary general of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) – to pet projects.

A commentator said : “In 2000, the WCD published a report showing how reservoirs posed dangers to the environment despite their importance for development. Notable for its holistic and sustainable approach, it is this viewpoint that Steiner brings to his new office.” (our emphasis).

The UN had been considering other candidates, not just Steiner. France’s environmental minister, Segolène Royal, was a final contender – and noticeably unhappy about the UN’s selection. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had actually promised the job to a woman, Royal said. She speculated that the UN tapped Steiner due to Germany’s role as an important donor for the UNDP, which relies on (voluntary) donations from individual nations.

Mr Steiner was Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme between 2006 and 2016.  He previously served as Director-General of the United Nations Office in Nairobi from 2009 to 2011, Director-General of the International Union for Conservation of Nature from 2001 to 2006, and as Secretary-General of the World Commission on Dams, in South Africa, from 1998 to 2001.

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Oroville Dam, ICOLD President intervenes on the radio

By Michael Rogers and Emmanuel Grenier

Aerial View of the Oroville Dam (photo by California Department of Water Resources)

There is now a rush to repair the spillways at the Oroville Dam in Northern California and lower the water level in Lake Oroville before rain arrives again. It is feared that damage to an emergency spillway could dump large amounts of water into the Feather River, which runs through downtown Oroville. This fear led to the evacuation of nearly 200 000 people living under the lake. The main dam (235m high) was never in danger and remains safe. The Oroville Dam issue started with an unexplained structural failure of a lower part of the 3000-foot-long gated service spillway.

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SHERPA is an EU-funded project that will develop and validate a range of innovative technologies designed to refurbish existing hydropower plants and improve their efficiency and environmental performance.

SHERPA is composed by 7 entities from 4 different EU countries (Spain, Germany, Ireland and Belgium):  Iberdrola Generación S.A. (project coordinator), Asociación de Investigación Metalúrgica del Noroeste, Voith Hydro Holding GmbH & Co. KG, EPRI Europe DAC, Innomerics SL., AECOM Spain, DCS, S.L., and Zabala Innovation.

more details here: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101172849.

Click the image below to view the press release:

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The workshop was held on 1st October 2024 during the ICOLD2024 Annual Meeting.

Recording of this workshop is now available:

>> Click here <<

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Dear colleagues,
We warmly invite you to participate in the 20th jubilee edition of the International Conference
on Dam Engineering Control TKZ'2023.

`The conference will be held from 12 to 15 September 2023.

Themes of the conference

1. Safety of dams
2. Geotechnical aspects of hydraulic structures
3. Operation, maintenance and renovation of hydraulic structures
4. Modern technologies and methods for design and monitoring of hydraulic structures
5. Hydraulic transport and wet waste disposal
6. Hydroelectricity
7. Role of hydraulic structures in shaping rivers
8. Sustainable development and environmental impact of hydraulic structures
9. Water retention in urban areas 

Publication of papers

• Authors are requested to submit their papers to the organizing committee according to the above mentioned themes.
• Submission of papers is possible after registration to the conference.
• Papers will be reviewed and qualified for presentation at the conference and for publication in journals:
• Archives of Civil Engineering (in English and with supplement)
• Journal of Water and Land Development (in English and with supplement)
• Energetyka Wodna (in Polish and English)
• Gospodarka Wodna (in Polish and English)
• Inzynier Budownictwa (in Polish)
• IMGW Monographs (in Polish and English)

The conference is recommended for theorists and practitioners involved in the design, construction and operation of hydraulic structures.

The official languages of the conference are English and Polish.

The conference will be held in a hybrid format - stationary at the Diament Arsenal Palace Hotel in Chorzów (Poland) and online via a streaming platform.

Participants will have the opportunity to take part in a technical tour of the Goczalkowice reservoir.

To know more

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