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.
The topics covered laid out the basis for risk informed decision making.
The last day of the seminar covered various case studies on risk analyses followed by a panel discussion about the various topics and presentations covered throughout the seminar.
The theme of the day had a strong focus on risk assessments. There were evaluations of previous dam failures, including the Orville Dam and a synopsis on the previous 25 years of risk-informed decision making and what to expect in the upcoming 25 years.
The presentations covered throughout the day related to benefit-cost analysis. The topic stems from justification FEMA and the National Dam Safety Review Board are using to add some sort of simplified methodology to the High Hazard Potential Dam grant process.
For 30 years, the Federal government has used the National Dam Safety Program (NDSP) to protect Americans from dam failure. The NDSP is a partnership of the States, Federal agencies, and other stakeholders that encourages and promotes the establishment and maintenance of effective Federal and state dam safety programs to reduce the risks to human life, property, and the environment from dam related hazards.
This is a catalog of all the print publications that have been developed by FEMA for the National Dam Safety Program.
This is a summary of how states are using Decision Support System for Water Infrastructure Security™ Lite (DSS-WISE™ Lite), a web-based, automated two-dimensional dam-break flood modeling and mapping capability, as a dam risk management tool. DSS-WISE™ Lite was developed by the National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering (NCCHE), the University of Mississippi. Its development, operation, and maintenance are supported by FEMA. DSS-WISE™ Lite has been used extensively during numerous dam incidents and emergencies. FEMA reached out to several states asking for case studies of their experience with DSS-WISE and received over 100 examples. </p>
The purpose of FEMA’s Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams Grant Program Guidance is to establish the framework and requirements to implement the HHPD grant program. This Guidance document is incorporated by reference as part of FEMA Policy 104- 008-7 as FEMA’s official policy on, and interpretation of, the requirements for implementation of FEMA’s HHPD grant program.
The purpose of this policy, inclusive of FEMA’s Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams Grant Program Guidance (June 2020), is to establish the framework and requirements to implement the HHPD grant program.
Decision Support System for Water Infrastructure Security Human Consequence Module (DSS-WISETM HCOM) is an analytical module for automated assessment of the human consequences of dam-break floods. The National Center for Computational Hydroscience and Engineering (NCCHE) and the University of Mississippi developed the module with funding provided by the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through a contract with Argonne National Laboratory.