GEI Professionals Presenting at the 2015 ASDSO Dam Safety Conference

BOSTON, Mass.—September 14, 2015— GEI Consultants, Inc., one of the nation’s leading geotechnical, environmental, water resources, and ecological science and engineering firms, announced today that Chris R. Karam, P.E., Chad M. Masching, P.E., Nicholas D. Miller, P.E., P.H., Stephen W. Verigin, P.E., G.E., and R. Lee Wooten, P.E. are presenting at the 2015 Association of State Dam Safety Officials (ASDSO) Dam Safety conference in New Orleans, LA from September 13-17, 2015. ASDSO is a national non-profit association dedicated to improving dam safety by working toward advancing technology, standards and research to a future where all dams are safe.

Chris Karam, P.E., a Senior Project Manager and the Branch Manager of GEI’s Portland, ME office, is part of a team presenting a session on Emergency Planning on September 14 at 10:30 am. The session, titled Situational Awareness: Key to a Successful Implementation of Dam Safety- Emergency Management Program, will discuss situational awareness, which aims to understand and coordinate accurate and timely information before, during, and after an emergency event leading to a dam failure is a critical process in emergency management. Mr. Karam has over 24 years of experience in evaluating design storms based on Probable Maximum Precipitation and Floods (PMP and PMF), calibrating and verifying historical floods using HEC-1, HEC-HMS and flood wave routing, dam failure analysis, incremental hazard evaluations, inflow design flood studies, and inundation mapping using DAMBRK, HEC-RAS, and GIS.

Nicholas D. Miller, P.E., P.H., a Hydrology and Hydraulics Engineer in GEI’s Denver office, is giving a poster talk titled A Race Against Mother Nature, Emergency Dam Safety Repairs at 11,000 Feet on the afternoon of September 14. The talk focuses on Ivanhoe Dam, near Leadville, CO, where emergency dam safety repairs were required due to significant deterioration of the outlet works structure resulting in noticeable piping of embankment material through the release pipe. Mr. Miller’s expertise lies in the area of hydrology and hydraulics relating to dams, including the planning and design of dams, feasibility studies, spillways design and analysis, inlet and outlet works design, analysis of conduit and open channel flow, probable maximum flood (PMF) studies, and extensive hydraulic computer modeling.

Stephen W. Verigin, P.E., G.E., a Senior Vice President in GEI’s Sacramento office, is moderating a general session the morning of September 15. The General Session, titled Digging Deeper Into How Man-made Flood Protection and Flood Risk Management Have Impacted the Region, includes speakers from Tulane University, US Army Corps of Engineers, Waggonner and Bal Architects, and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority. On September 17, Mr. Verigin is moderating a Specialty Workshop titled Update on National Levee Safety Initiative Implementation and Overview of Levee Technical Guidelines, where invited speakers include USACE leadership and international levee safety experts. Mr. Verigin is also leading a session on Dam Removals on September 15, titled Improvements at Upper Kapahi Dam – Evolution of a Dam Safety Project on the Garden Island, with GEI’s Chad M. Masching, P.E., GEI’s Central Region Engineering Division Manager from the company’s Denver office. The presentation focuses on the Upper Kapahi Dam and Reservoir on the island of Kauai, HI, and the hurdles the engineering teams faced during its initial repair which ultimately led to the construction of a new dam. Mr. Verigin has extensive experience in all types of dam engineering, and is well versed in hydraulic structure analysis and design, hydrology and hydraulics. Mr. Masching’s experience includes the design of embankment and concrete dams, fish passages, spillways, outlet works and conveyance piping, surface water management and groundwater relief systems, deep foundations and environmental projects.

On September 16, R. Lee Wooten, P.E., Vice President/Design Division Manager in GEI’s Boston office, is leading a presentation on the 10th Anniversary of the Hadlock Pond Dam Failure, New York. During this presentation, Mr. Wooten will lead the audience through the sudden failure of the Hadlock Pond Dam, near Fort Ann, NY, and the investigation and litigation that followed. Mr. Wooten is a civil engineer specializing in the area of dam engineering and soil mechanics. His experience includes inspection and stability analyses of existing dams, evaluation of embankment and foundation soil properties, development of conceptual designs for remedial measures, development of final designs and specifications for embankment dam construction, and construction observation of dam modifications.

Also in attendance at Dam Safety 2015 will be Kelly A. Cohane, in GEI’s Boston office, and Roger A. Miller, P.G., C.P.G., in GEI’s Green Bay office; members of GEI will be available to speak with interested attendees at Booth 501 throughout the conference.

About GEI: GEI’s multidisciplinary team of engineers, scientists, and planners deliver integrated water resources, environmental, ecological, geotechnical and waterfront engineering solutions to diverse clientele nationwide. The firm has provided a broad range of consulting and engineering services on over 50,000 projects in 50 states and 22 countries. For more information on GEI, please visit www.geiconsultants.com.