In an effort to educate the public on risk associated with living beneath a dam, the Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) have partnered to curate www.livingneardams.org. This website plays host to public resources to help dam owners, public officials, and others to help identify and mitigate the risk of living below a dam.
The site currently hosts two eBooks which are co-authored by these groups: “Living With Dams: Know Your Risks” and “Living With Dams: Extreme Rainfall Events”. An excellent resource for members of the general public, “Know Your Risks” explains technical terms and as well as guidance on how to prepare for a potential dam failure of any magnitude. Meanwhile, “Extreme Rainfall Events” is a guidebook that primarily targets dam owners to explains the risk and results of dam failure and offer guidance on reducing failure events. Each book walks reads through the importance of dam safety and emergency preparedness in just four simple steps.
Since dams are everywhere, it would be ideal to see the Living Near Dams campaign promoted and/or adopted by communities that have the potential to be impacted by a dam failure.
