National Dam Safety Program Publications

The National Dam Safety Program provides a variety of publications, including:

  • Research Needs Workshop Reports
  • Technical Manuals, Guides and Reports
  • Technical Advisories
  • Safety Series Fact Sheets
  • Response and Recovery (R&R) Dam Response Operations Matrices
  • Dam Safety & Risk MAP/Flood Mapping Studies Fact Sheet Series
  • DSS-WISE Fact Sheets
  • FEMA P-1015, Technical Manual: Overtopping Protection for Dams (ZIP, 410MB)

Search for Dam Safety Publications

Search for documents below, or view our pages on Federal Guidelines, National Dam Safety Program Information, Resources for the General Public, or Resources for States.

You can order publications from the FEMA Distribution Center.

file icon
CTA-4 Plan Development

During this session, the participants will build an understanding of how to consider the Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dam Grant Program hazard mitigation and floodplain management plan requirements. Facilitators will share overviews of how to develop a floodplain management plan that identifies how to reduce the impacts of future flood events in the area protected by the grant project. Additionally, they will provide an overview of and guidance on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process. The participants will also be introduced to best practices in identifying dam risk in a hazard mitigation plan. A subject matter expert, for example from the National Silver Jackets program, will be a guest speaker to provide current best practices and available state and federal resources.

file icon
Emergency Operations Planning: Dam Incident Planning Guide

This Dam Incident Planning Guide supports state, local, tribal, and territorial emergency managers in planning for dam incidents and failures by summarizing the concepts that a community should consider when creating dam incident-specific elements of local emergency operations plans. This guide builds on the Comprehensive Preparedness Guide (CPG) 101: Developing and Maintaining Emergency Operations Plans.1 It also provides guidance for dam owners and operators on how to engage with emergency managers prior to an incident to ensure a well-coordinated response. Appendix A provides a general template for a community dam incident plan that can be adapted to meet each community’s needs.

file icon
Guidance: Dams/Reservoirs and Non-Dam Features (Nov 2019)

file icon
The National Dam Safety Program Biennial Report to the United States Congress, Fiscal Years 2016-2017

All goals and objectives from the NDSP strategic plan have been met for the reporting period. Throughout this report, activities performed that were related to accomplishing an overall goal or specific objective have been noted.

file icon
Does Risk Information Lead to Action? | Stacy Langsdale - US Army Corps of Engineers

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation

file icon
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Information Sharing Guidelines | Jeff Holloway - FERC

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation

file icon
Dam Ownership Risks and Burdens | Emma Moradi - Oklahoma Water Resources Board

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation

file icon
Communicating About Risk with Local Communities | Peter Herrick - FEMA

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation

file icon
Tips, Tricks, and Tools to Communicate Dam Risk | Preston Wilson - FEMA

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation

file icon
Advancements in Evacuation Modeling | Woodrow Lee Fields - US Army Corps of Engineers

2019 NDSP Technical Seminar Presentation