ASCE GEO-INSITUTE PITTSBURGH SECTION

2025 SHORT COURSE

FOUNDATION TREATMENT TECHNOLOGIES FOR DAMS AND LEVEES - STATE OF THE PRACTICE

Welcome and Intros (15 mins)

Design and Procurement (105 mins) (Dave Paul, P.E., Paul GeoTek Consulting Engineering LLC; and Bill Empson, P.E., PMP, Empson Consulting)

• Risk Informed Design Program (USACE) (30 mins)
• National Dam and Levee Safety Program Overviews (15 min)
• USACE Guidance Documents Updates (30 mins)
• Procurement Methods and Alternative Delivery (30 mins)

Break (15 mins)

Foundation Treatment Techniques (60 mins) (José Torres, Nicholson Construction Company)

• Drilling and Grouting Methods
• Cutoff/Barrier Wall Methods

Special Methods and Advancements (45 mins)

• Hydraulic Fracture Considerations (Kathleen Bensko, P.G., KBensko LLC Consulting)
• Sonic Drilling (Jim McCombs, Cascade Drilling)

Lunch (60 mins)

Practical Considerations for Dam and Levee Projects

• Instrumentation and Data Management (45 mins) (Raphaël Siebenmann, P.E., Geosyntec Consultants)
• USACE-DFI Working Group Updates on Specifications and QA/QC (30 mins) (Mary Ellen Large, P.E., BC.GE, Nicholson Construction Company; Dave Paul, Paul Geotek Engineering Consulting, LLC)
• Specifications - A Contractor's View on Risk Sharing (30 mins) (Mary Ellen Large, P.E., BC.GE, and José Torres, Nicholson Construction Company)

Break (15 mins)

Case Histories (90 mins)

• Red Bluff or Chimney Hollow (30 mins) (José Torres, Nicholson Construction Company)
• Boone Dam (30 mins) (Rafael Siebenmann, P.E., Geosyntec Consultants)
• Mosul Dam (Iraq) (30 mins)(Dave Paul, Paul Geotek Engineering Consulting LLC, and Bill Empson, P.E., PMP, Empson Consulting)

Panel Discussion (30 mins)