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Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise

Published Jan. 17, 2024

 

The Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise (DSMMCX) is co-located with the Great Lakes and Ohio River Division Dam Safety Production Center (DSPC) at the USACE, Huntington District Headquarters in Huntington, West Virginia. It was established in accordance with Operation Order 2011-14, along with the seven regional Dam Safety Production Centers, to develop the “expertise to deliver dam safety modifications, so critical to the continued safe operation” of the USACE inventory of dams. Roles and responsibilities for the DSMMCX are laid out in ER 10-1-51, 28 September 2012.

Mission
“The USACE Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise (DSMMCX) provides technical advice, oversight, review and production capability for all aspects of dam modification projects across USACE.”

Roles
DSMMCX

  • Provide oversight for the execution of dam safety modifications
  • Conduct Agency Technical Reviews of non-routine dam safety products
  • Ensure consistency and lessons learned throughout USACE
  • Facilitate workforce and workload alignment across Dam Safety Production Centers
  • Collaborate with HQ in developing and conducting training related to dam safety

Regional Dam Safety Production Centers

  • Responsible for all Regional Dam Safety Modification Reports and complex non-routine dam safety products
  • Provide lead engineers for dam safety modification projects

Office of the Director
The Director oversees a staff of 30+ engineers and technicians responsible for executing the mission of the DSMMCX.  Additional roles of the Director include:

  • Chair of the DSPC Management Group
  • Member of the Dams Senior Oversight Group
  • Member of the Dam Safety Steering Committee

Contact:  (304) 399-5026

Hydrology & Hydraulics and Technical Support Division
This office is staffed with national experts in:

  • Hydraulic design of dam spillways and outlet works
  • Hydrologic modeling and consequence analysis
  • Cost Engineering
  • Construction scheduling
  • Cost and Schedule Risk Analysis
  • Portfolio Wide Data Management and Analysis
  • Dam Safety construction engineering

Contact:  (304) 399-5017

Geotechnical Division
This office is staffed with geotechnical engineers, engineering geologists, and technicians with a number of dam safety related areas of expertise including:

  • Embankment dam seepage and stability analyses
  • Design of seepage and stability remediation features
  • Rock mechanics and stability of concrete structures founded on rock
  • Prestressed rock anchors
  • Foundation grouting
  • Concrete materials
  • Subsurface investigations
  • Geologic site characterization
  • Geotechnical laboratory testing
  • Rock excavation
  • Earthwork construction
  • Fracture flow and uplift
  • Geotechnical instrumentation

Contact:  (304) 399-5016

General Engineering Division
This office is staffed with Civil and Structural Engineers and technicians with a number of dam safety related areas of expertise including:

  • Reinforced and mass concrete hydraulic structures
  • ​Design, analysis, evaluation and rehabilitation of mass concrete, roller compacted concrete and concrete arch dams
  • Design, analysis, evaluation and rehabilitation of Hydraulic Steel Structures
  • Formulation of alternatives and construction sequencing
  • Civil/site design and layout

Contact:  (304) 399-5018

Management Support Division
Contact: (304) 399-5109


The DSMMCX is responsible for scheduling, coordinating, and facilitating DSPC-MG activities.  Committee membership consists of the USACE Special Assistant for Dam and Levee Safety, the Director of the Risk Management Center (RMC), the Director of the Modeling, Mapping Consequence Center (MMCC), the USACE Dam Safety Program Manager and the directors of all the DSPCs within USACE. The committee shall be chaired by the DSMMCX Director. The DSPC-MG meets quarterly and focuses on consistency of DSPC products, how to make delivery of DSPC products/services more efficient, ensuring widest distribution of lessons learned and ensuring a coordinated workload among the DSPCs.  There are currently seven DSPCs:

  • Great Lakes and Ohio River Division – Huntington, WV
  • Mississippi Valley Division – Vicksburg, MS
  • North Atlantic Division – New York, NY
  • Northwestern Division – Omaha, NE
  • South Atlantic Division – Atlanta, GA
  • South Pacific Division – Sacramento, CA
  • Southwestern Division – Tulsa, OK

Key Project Involvement
The DSMMCX is currently involved in numerous projects in various roles.  Some of these projects include the following:

  • Folsom Dam
  • Whittier Narrows Dam
  • Center Hill Dam
  • Herbert Hoover Dike
  • Cherry Creek Dam
  • Isabella Dam
  • Dover Dam
  • East Branch Dam
  • Dahla Dam
  • Canton Dam
  • Zoar Levee
  • Bluestone Dam
  • Bolivar Dam
  • Morganza to the Gulf
  • Olmsted L&D
  • STRATCOM Facility in NWD
  • Guidance Updates and Maintenance Program
  • Mapping, Modeling and Consequence Center Support and National Team Lead
  • National Mineral Extraction Team Lead
  • Dam Safety Quality Management System Processes


The DSMMCX is currently involved in numerous projects in various roles.  Some of these projects include the following:

  • Folsom Dam
  • Whittier Narrows Dam
  • Center Hill Dam
  • Herbert Hoover Dike
  • Cherry Creek Dam
  • Isabella Dam
  • Dover Dam
  • East Branch Dam
  • Dahla Dam
  • Canton Dam
  • Zoar Levee
  • Bluestone Dam
  • Bolivar Dam
  • Morganza to the Gulf
  • Olmsted L&D
  • STRATCOM Facility in NWD
  • Guidance Updates and Maintenance Program
  • Mapping, Modeling and Consequence Center Support and National Team Lead
  • National Mineral Extraction Team Lead
  • Dam Safety Quality Management System Processes