In North America the majority of dams, large and small, are at or near the end of their 50-year design life. Hatch provides a full range of services to support owners as they develop strategies for ensuring the safety of their facilities, and compliance with regulatory guidelines.

Risk-based dam safety assessments assist in planning and prioritizing long-term safety programs. Failure modes and effects analyses give owners a comprehensive understanding of the causes and results of dam failure. Emergency response preparedness plans are designed to mitigate the results of failure, and can help raise a dam's incremental consequence category. Analyses of the downstream effects of a break, the effects of earth movements on the structure, and geotechnical reviews of the stability of dams not only raise safety levels, but frequently reduce remediation costs in comparison with older rule-of-thumb procedures.

Hatch has provided these, and other, services to hundreds of dam owners in North America and around the world.