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Cost Trends and Estimates for Dam Rehabilitation in the Commonwealth of Virginia

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dc.contributor.authorBaron, Stefany A.en
dc.contributor.committeechairDymond, Randel L.en
dc.contributor.committeememberHodges, Clayton Christopheren
dc.contributor.committeememberYoung, Kevin D.en
dc.contributor.departmentCivil and Environmental Engineeringen
dc.date.accessioned2020-06-09T08:01:16Zen
dc.date.available2020-06-09T08:01:16Zen
dc.date.issued2020-06-08en
dc.description.abstractIn recent years, the United States has seen a high demand for dam rehabilitation projects as most dam infrastructure has started to reach or exceed the expected life span of 50-70 years. Rehabilitation projects can be very expensive, however, and the funding options for dam owners are limited. To raise awareness, organizations such as ASDSO and the Virginia DCR release cost estimates every few years to encourage more investment in dam infrastructure. Unfortunately, many cost estimates have been made with limited data and outdated methodologies. This research collects a new sample of cost data for Virginia dam rehabilitation projects and uses it to assess key factors for cost estimating. Factors such as height, drainage area, hazard classification, and ownership type were used to make regression models that predict the cost of addressing Virginia's non-compliant dams. This study estimates that approximately $300 million is needed to address Virginia's 98 deficient high hazard, local government owned dams and that $122 million of that estimate is need for SWCD dams alone.en
dc.description.abstractgeneralDam rehabilitation refers to the repair, removal, or upgrade of an existing dam structure. Rehabilitation projects are done when dams start to exceed their intended life span (approximately 50-60 years) or when policy makers change the required safety standards. The demand for dam rehabilitation has been increasing for the past several years as more and more dams are being identified as unsafe, but the available funding for rehabilitation projects is limited and competitive to obtain for dam owners. To raise awareness, dam safety agencies release cost estimates every few years to encourage government leaders and the general public to take action. However, these estimates need to be taken with caution as they are often made with limited data availability and outdated methodologies. This research collects a new sample of cost data for Virginia dam rehabilitation projects that have occurred in the last 15 years. Dam characteristics such as height, watershed size, downstream risk potential, and ownership type were used to form equations that predict the cost of addressing Virginia's non-compliant dams. This study estimates that approximately $300 million is needed to address Virginia's 98 deficient high hazard, local government owned dams and that $122 million of that estimate is need for Virginia's Soil and Water Conservation District dams alone.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.format.mediumETDen
dc.identifier.othervt_gsexam:26589en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/98786en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectCost Estimatingen
dc.subjectDam Safetyen
dc.subjectDam Rehabilitationen
dc.subjectDam Removalen
dc.titleCost Trends and Estimates for Dam Rehabilitation in the Commonwealth of Virginiaen
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplineCivil Engineeringen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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