WVOV Chapter In-Person Meeting - May 2019

West Virginia / Ohio Valley Chapter of PMI is proud to present a lunch-time member meeting featuring a presentation by the US Army Corps of Engineers.  Advance registration is required at the Chapter's web site.  1 PDU in the technical triangle area will be awarded for participation in this event.  A lunch meal will be provided; cost for members is $10, cost for non-members is $15 (you must log into the WVOVPMI site using your PMI credentials to obtain the discounted rate).

Presentation abstract: The Bluestone concrete gravity dam is designated a Dam Safety Action Classification (DSAC 2) project. A Dam Safety Assurance (DSA) report was approved in 1998 to address a hydrologic deficiency. DSA work began in 2000 and is anticipated to be complete in 2019 (Phases 1, 2a, 2b, 3, and 4). This work consists primarily of increasing outflow capacity with an auxiliary spillway and stabilizing the dam with rock anchors and thrust blocks. Risk Assessments confirmed an additional failure mode not addressed by the 1998 study which requires attention to meet USACE tolerable risk guidelines. A Dam Safety Modification Report Supplement (DSMRS) examining alternatives for reducing risk associated with the failure mode not identified by the 1998 DSA report was approved in September of 2017 and approved design and implementation of a significant investment to address remaining life-safety risks (Phase 5). The project received funding to completion in the 2018 Bipartisan Budget Act (PL 115-123) and is now concurrently finalizing designs and implementing Phase 5, which will reconfigure the existing stilling basin to handle outflows nearly four times as much as Niagara Falls sees on a typical day.

Speaker BIO: Mr. Aaron Smith is originally from the Washington D.C. area. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Mary Washington College in Fredericksburg, Virginia and his Masters in Science degree from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. He worked for 10 plus years in the private sector as a consultant before joining the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District in 2008. Between 2008 and 2013, Mr. Smith has worked in the Planning Branch, serving as a lead planner on several studies and construction projects, principally on Dam Safety projects. In 2014, Mr. Smith served as the Chief of Environmental Analysis Section in Planning Branch. In 2015, Mr. Smith was named a Senior Project Manager in the Programs and Project Management Branch, and has principal responsibility for the delivery of the Bluestone Dam Safety Mega Project in Huntington District.