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Dam Safety Federal Guidelines

The Interagency Committee on Dam Safety (ICODS) has prepared and approved the following federal guidelines for federal agency dam owners and regulators. These guidelines may also be used by non-federal dam owners, regulators and operators.

Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety Risk Management (FEMA P-1025)
Guidelines for implementing risk-informed decision making in a dam safety program (2015).

Emergency Action Planning for Dam Owners (FEMA P-64)
Guidelines to encourage strict safety standards in the practices and procedures employed by federal agencies or required of dam owners regulated by the federal agencies. Guidelines to encourage emergency action planning for dams to help save lives and reduce property damage (2013).

Inundation Mapping of Flood Risks Associated with Dam Incidents and Failures (FEMA P-946)
The purpose of this document is to provide dam safety professionals with guidance on how to prepare dam breach inundation modeling studies and conduct mapping that can be used for multiple purposes, including dam safety, hazard mitigation, consequence evaluation and emergency management including developing EAPs. This guidance is intended to provide a consistent approach that can be applied across the country (2013).

Selecting and Accommodating Inflow Design Floods for Dams (FEMA P-94)
Guidelines that provide procedures for selecting and accommodating inflow design floods (2013).

Earthquake Analyses and Design of Dams (FEMA P-65)
Guidelines that provide the basic framework for the earthquake design and evaluation of dams (2005).

Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety (FEMA P-93)
These guidelines encourage strict safety standards in the practices and procedures employed by federal agencies or required of dam owners regulated by the federal agencies (2023).

Glossary of Terms (FEMA P-148)
A provision of common terminology for dam safety for use within and among the federal agencies (2004).

Many publications can be ordered from the FEMA Publications Warehouse by calling 1-800-480-2520. You can also email a request to FEMApubs@gpo.gov. Please provide the title, FEMA publication number and the quantity of each publication, along with your name, address, zip code and daytime telephone number.