A Case for Selecting Only Deterministic Spillway Design Floods for High Hazard Dams

by Cornelius L. Cooper, Federal Energy Regulatory, Commission, Washington, DC, USA,



Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Water Power '87

Abstract:

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has under license or exemption from licensing more than 2000 hydroelectric dams. The Office of Hydropower Licensing published, in September 1986, new guidelines on Selecting Design Floods for Spillways. The guidelines recommend the use of deterministic probable maximum floods as the design floods for high hazard dams. The use of deterministic probable maximum floods are supported in part by the conclusions of an Interagency Work Group. The Work Group concluded that it is not within the state of the art to calculate the probability of the probable maximum or other rare floods within definable confidence or error bounds.

Subject Headings: Floods | Dams | Spillways | Hydro power | Hydraulic design | Probability | Natural disasters

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