National Inventory of Dams

National Inventory of Dams
Name	National Inventory of Dams
Established	1979
Jurisdiction	United States
Parent agency	United States Army Corps of Engineers

Contents

National Inventory of Dams

Overview

The Inventory was initiated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in coordination with agencies such as USGS, Bureau of Reclamation, FEMA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and NOAA following recommendations from studies by the National Research Council and the National Dam Safety Review Board. Historical drivers included incidents like Teton Dam failure, Buffalo Creek Flood, Johnstown Flood, and policy actions such as the Dam Safety Act of 1972 and later state-level statutes influenced by the Water Resources Development Act. Development milestones involved partnerships with Association of State Dam Safety Officials and technical guidance from American Society of Civil Engineers and International Commission on Large Dams.

Coverage includes dams meeting thresholds set by the Corps and state authorities, reported by owners ranging from private companies to municipal districts like Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and federal operators including U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Data are gathered via submissions from entities such as state dam safety programs, public utility districts, electric cooperatives, and consulting firms like Brown and Caldwell and HDR, Inc., augmented by remote sensing from Landsat, Sentinel-2, LiDAR campaigns, and aerial imagery from National Agriculture Imagery Program. Coordination occurs with registries such as National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System and National Hydrography Dataset.

Records contain attributes including structural type, height, storage capacity, hazard potential, owner/operator, construction year, and spillway design, following standards advised by ASCE Manual and Reports on Engineering Practice, ANSI, and international guidance from ICOLD. Classification of hazard potential uses protocols developed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for hydropower facilities and by state programs influenced by Association of State Dam Safety Officials and case law precedents adjudicated in courts such as United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and Supreme Court of the United States. Engineering parameters reference publications from National Academy of Sciences, USACE Engineering Manuals, and research from institutions like Oregon State University and University of Minnesota.

The Inventory informs floodplain mapping by FEMA for the National Flood Insurance Program, supports emergency planning by FEMA Region II and DHS, guides infrastructure funding decisions by Congressional Budget Office and Office of Management and Budget, and aids environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act. It underpins academic research at Princeton University, Columbia University, Imperial College London, and ETH Zurich, and supports industry applications by firms such as AECOM and Jacobs Engineering Group. Conservation groups including Audubon Society and World Wildlife Fund use Inventory data for habitat impact assessments tied to projects financed by institutions like the World Bank.

Critics from Union of Concerned Scientists, Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Working Group, and investigative reporting by outlets like ProPublica and The New York Times note gaps in completeness, timeliness, and quality-control, citing incidents such as analyses after Hurricane Katrina and failures examined in reports by the Government Accountability Office. Limitations include inconsistent reporting across state programs, variable metadata quality compared to international registries maintained by ICOLD and challenges in integrating near-real-time monitoring technologies promoted by firms like Trimble and Raven Applied Technology.

Governance is led by the United States Army Corps of Engineers with collaboration from state dam safety agencies, federal partners including FEMA and USGS, and stakeholder input from Association of State Dam Safety Officials and ASCE, guided by policy frameworks such as the Water Resources Development Act and administrative rules of the Office of Management and Budget. Public access is provided through web interfaces and data services compatible with Geographic Information System platforms used by agencies like NOAA and academia, while data sharing agreements with entities such as Environmental Protection Agency and state departments regulate release of sensitive location details.