Developing a Geospatial Dam Inventory with AI-Based Mapping

Dams are essential structures that play a crucial role in shaping the way we manage and utilize one of our most precious resources—water. From providing drinking water to generating renewable energy and reducing flood risk, dams have a significant impact on both societies and the natural environment. 

In this blog, we’ll examine how the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA’s) National Dam Safety Program (NDSP) plays a critical role in helping states enhance dam safety, minimize risks, and protect communities. We’ll also explore how AI-powered geospatial data from Ecopia AI (Ecopia) can support states in accessing federal funding from NDSP and other key sources.

The essential role of dams

According to the Army Corps of Engineers, there are more than 90,000 dams across the United States. These dams serve as critical infrastructure, playing a vital role in water management, energy production, and public safety. They ensure a reliable water supply for drinking, agriculture, and industry, making them crucial for the economic and environmental stability of entire regions. Dams also regulate water flow, helping to prevent floods and reduce damage to downstream communities and properties. In many states, dams are key sources of hydroelectric power, providing renewable energy and decreasing dependence on fossil fuels. Furthermore, they create reservoirs that support recreation, tourism, and local ecosystems, contributing to economic growth and improving quality of life. 

As important as dams are, the risks posed by poorly maintained or unsafe dams are significant, including the potential for loss of life, widespread property damage, and environmental harm. According to the Association of State Dam Safety, between 2005 and 2013, there have been over 170 dam failures and many more near-miss incidents that could have led to catastrophic failures. More recently, in 2020, heavy rains in Michigan triggered the collapse of the Edenville Dam. The flooding that followed led to the evacuation of 10,000 people and resulted in damages totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

The National Dam Safety Program

Ensuring the safety and proper maintenance of dams is a top priority for states. FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program (NDSP) plays a critical role in this effort, helping to reduce risks to public safety, property, and the environment by strengthening dam safety across the nation. The NDSP state assistance grant program provides financial support to states, helping them enhance their dam safety programs with a focus on improving the safety, security, and performance of dams.

States and territories with active dam safety programs are eligible for funding under NDSP. As part of the funding process, states submit applications to FEMA outlining their priorities and needs for dam safety improvements. These applications detail how the funds will be used to enhance safety programs and comply with FEMA’s guidelines. Funding is distributed based on various factors, including the number and condition of dams in the state, the level of risk they pose, and the state's plans for improving inspection processes, emergency preparedness, training, and public awareness.

Building a geospatial inventory for dam safety 

Having a geospatial inventory of dams is important for several reasons, including applying for federal funding to support dam safety improvements. It allows for accurate mapping and classification of dams based on their location and proximity to high-risk areas like residential neighborhoods or critical infrastructure. With this data, state and federal agencies can prioritize dams requiring immediate attention based on the risk to human life, property, and infrastructure downstream. The ability to quickly identify high-hazard dams makes it easier to direct funding to projects posing the greatest threat and requiring urgent mitigation while ensuring all dams are properly accounted for, categorized, and monitored, which is vital for safety planning and FEMA’s funding eligibility.

However, it can be challenging for states to create and maintain an accurate inventory of dams and their proximity to high-risk areas, especially given how quickly our world changes. Urban development, population growth, and shifting environmental conditions can rapidly alter the risk landscape, making it difficult to keep dam inventories and classifications up-to-date.

Streamlining dam mapping with Ecopia

As communities evolve rapidly, statewide databases often become outdated, and updating them can be a complex and resource-intensive process. Manually digitizing features into vector layers from geospatial imagery is both time-consuming and costly. Whether mapping one feature or twenty, the process is slow and inefficient. For example the GIS team in  in Collier County, Florida nearly four years to digitize driveways across the county. By the time the data was finalized, it was already outdated, no longer reflecting the current landscape. When it comes to dams, the challenge is even greater due to the dynamically changing environments that surround them, making it difficult to maintain an accurate, up-to-date understanding of associated risks and conditions.

Fortunately, Ecopia offers a more efficient solution. Our AI-based systems can detect and extract every feature captured in source imagery, whether natural or manmade, and classify the results into distinct layers depicting critical landscape elements and infrastructure. What previously required months of manual effort from trained GIS professionals can now be completed in a fraction of the time. In fact, our systems can extract high-precision vector data from imagery for an entire state within weeks.

With Ecopia’s data, states can easily identify and maintain an up-to-date inventory of dams and surrounding land cover data, ensuring they have the most current information available. Additionally, they can assess nearby hazards, aiding in the classification of these dams. What would have been an incredibly time-consuming manual process can now be done with speed and precision, empowering decision-makers with the data they need to manage and mitigate risks effectively.

For example, Ecopia partnered with the Government of Canada to map over 1,100 square miles of land cover and infrastructure in the greater Montreal area to support a number of applications. Ecopia’s high-precision vector data about impervious surfaces, natural water features, dams, and dikes delivered flood management and disaster resilience insights for the area.

Future-proof your dam safety efforts with AI technology 

Whether ensuring reliable water supplies for communities, industries, and agriculture or harnessing the power of rivers to generate electricity, dams are engineering marvels that serve as the backbone of modern infrastructure. 

With Ecopia’s AI-powered geospatial data, states can efficiently identify and classify dams to help secure funding to enhance dam safety and ensure the protection of communities and infrastructure.

To discover how Ecopia’s high-precision land cover data can support your state’s dam safety initiatives, get in touch with our team today.