5. Conclusions
New techniques for performing risk assessments are now available and provide information to support decisions for dam maintenance or rehabilitation. Since 2011, ICOLD Committee is addressing this issue from a computational perspective, and is also providing context for researchers and dam managers to understand and pay attention to decisions that are typically made in both risk analyses and in standard design techniques (i.e., frequency of events, factors of safety, breaching parameters, etc.). Incorporating risk analysis in the last three Benchmark Workshops organized by this Committee has allowed a wide approach to these techniques, covering the three risk components: loads, system response, and consequences. The high participation in all Benchmark Workshops and the number of solutions presented show the interest of the dam community in reliability methods and the application of risk analysis to dam safety. In this sense, Benchmark Workshops have promoted knowledge exchange and discussions. Recent advances in computational methods have allowed a higher development of risk analysis techniques, evolving from simple structural models to complex numerical procedures and methods. However, there is still room for improvement—for example, in properly addressing epistemic uncertainty when data are collected and risk calculations are made. Benchmark Workshops have shown that when an engineering problem (even a relatively simple, straightforward, and wellknown one) is combined with risk analysis techniques, results should be analyzed in the light of sound engineering judgement in order to obtain meaningful and useful information to inform dam safety management.
