Our Current Courses

Take advantage of the courses we offer municipal governments, dam owners and state and federal agencies, providing tools and capacity to increase dam incident preparedness in emergency situations.

Emergency Action Plans (EAP) 101

The Emergency Action Plans (EAP) 101-course provides guidelines for the Dam Emergency Action process as outlined in the FEMA 64 Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety (Emergency Action Planning for Dams). This customizable course can be given as a webinar or an in-person course, and is designed with a combination of instruction, videos, and activities. The course incorporates local examples, regulations, and templates to provide participants with a learning experience that is relevant to their needs. At the end of this course, participants will be able to understand the purpose of an EAP, identify dam incidents and historic dam failures, and understand the six elements of an EAP. This course is essential for anyone who needs to develop an emergency action plan for a dam.

Emergency Action Planning & Emergency Operation Planning Integration

This course is designed to support emergency managers in planning for dam incidents and failures. It provides guidance for dam owners and operators on how to engage with emergency managers prior to an incident to ensure a well-coordinated emergency response. This process is outlined in FEMA’s Emergency Operations Planning: Dam Incident Planning Guide. Participants will understand responsibilities stakeholder’s roles and identify plan coordination points and activity, identify protective actions and triggers, understand community stakeholder coordination, and introduction to a dam incident annex for emergency operation plans.

Dam Safety Warning Signs

Introduction to FEMA Programs/Grants for Dams

If you're looking for ways to make your community more resilient, this course is a great introduction to FEMA programs and grants for dams. You'll learn about different grant programs, tools, and processes for getting projects approved and funded, and common pitfalls to avoid. This course is essential for anyone involved in resilience planning for their community.

Identifying Community Consequences of Dam Incidents/Failures

This course is designed to help community stakeholders understand and identify potential consequences related to an incident at a dam. The course can be given as a webinar or an in-person course and will demonstrate how to use the DSS Wise Lite and RAPT Tool integration. The course is designed with a combination of instruction, videos, and activities, and will cover topics such as how the dam impacts the community, how to gather information, an introduction into assessing consequence of a dam incident, and a general guide to tools and resources. This course is an essential tool for anyone who wants to be prepared in the event of a dam incident.

Dam Incident Tabletop Exercise Development

Looking to enhance your preparedness for dam incidents? Then this RSC course is for you! The Dam Incident Tabletop Exercise Development course will introduce participants to the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program and considerations needed specifically for dam incidents. The course can be given as a webinar or an in-person course, and is designed with a combination of instruction, videos, and activities. Generally, at the end of the course, participants will be able to understand how to develop a dam incident exercise planning team; understand scenario development for a dam incident exercise; identify how to create S.M.A.R.T Exercise Objectives; identify the Standard Components of an exercise; and understand roles and responsibilities of an exercise.

Dam Risk Communication Workshop

Do you have a responsibility in dam safety and risk communication? If so, you need to attend our Dam Risk Communication Workshop! This workshop is designed to help you understand the basics of risk and crisis communication, so that you can effectively communicate with the public in the event of an emergency.

We will cover topics such as risk communications theories, protective action decision making, and how to craft effective alert messages. You will also learn about the Guide to Public Alerts and Warnings for Dam and Levee Emergencies, which outlines best practices for managing dam emergencies.

This interactive workshop will be led by experts in the field, and you will have the opportunity to participate in practical exercises. This is a critical training for anyone responsible for dam safety and risk communication - don't miss it!