Water, Energy, and Society: The Evolving Role of Dams in a Changing World
The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) invites dam, levee, hydraulic structures, and water infrastructure professionals, engineers, planning, researchers, policymakers, and industry experts to submit abstracts for its 2026 International Symposium in Guadalajara, Mexico. The International Symposium is scheduled to be held on May 26 and May 27, 2026, as part of the ICOLD Annual Meeting. We anticipate 1,000–1,500 attendees from 70–80 countries, offering an unparalleled opportunity to exchange ideas, showcase innovations, and advance the safe and sustainable future of dams.
Symposium Focus Areas
The 2026 symposium will feature technical sessions spanning challenges and opportunities in dam safety and water infrastructure. The main topics (bold text) reflect a wide range of concerns across the dam lifecycle. The subtopics are included as suggestions or guidance in abstract preparation.
Water Planning, Water Management, and Climate Resilience
Impacts of urbanization and climatic change on existing dams and reservoirs and remedies; case studies and costs.
Impacts of climatic change on needs and designs of dams, reservoirs and levees (water storage, floods mitigation, ocean rising…).
Resiliency and sustainability for dam operations and related infrastructure
Flexible reservoir operation for flood and drought mitigation
Environmental flows: New approaches to sustaining ecosystems
Dams as adaptive infrastructure in water-stressed regions
Integrated reservoir planning for urban, agricultural, and industrial supply
Climate change impacts water demand and availability
Inter-basin transfer systems and regional water networks
Multi-purpose reservoirs: balancing supply, flood control, energy, and environment
Resilience strategies for water-scarce and drought-prone regions
Financing models for large-scale water supply infrastructure
Groundwater recharge and conjunctive use with surface reservoirs
Public-private partnerships and institutional coordination
Innovations in dam intake and conveyance design
Dam Safety Policy and Governance
Recent lessons from incidents and accidents concerning dams during the life cycle, including during construction.
Evaluation of precipitation and flood flows, estimation and quantification of the consequences, including social, economic and environmental aspects, in case of failure or incidents
Emergency planning: regulation, organization, information of the population and examples of implementation.
Dam Safety Governance: definition of responsibilities, periodic reviews, emergency action planning, failure modes and risk assessments, long-term maintenance, and implementation of actions around lessons learned.
Prioritization frameworks for rehabilitation investments
Funding models and international case studies in dam rehabilitation
Dam Construction and Rehabilitation: Innovation and Lifecycle Extension
Advances in dam design and materials for sustainability
Remote sensing and AI for monitoring during construction
Rehabilitation of aging dams: Techniques and case studies
Seismic retrofitting and hazard preparedness
Innovative construction techniques for dams
Use of advanced materials: high-performance concrete, geosynthetics, composites
Construction in extreme environments (mountainous terrain, remote areas, arid zones)
Integration of BIM and digital construction management tools
Managing logistics and workforce challenges in large-scale construction projects
Quality assurance and control in dam construction
Seepage control, grouting, and core reconstruction
Upgrading hydromechanical and electromechanical components
Dam Performance Monitoring
Case studies and lessons learned in performance monitoring programs
Long-term performance of existing and planned surveillance systems including reliability and accuracy
Importance of visual inspections
New technologies in dam and foundation instrumentation and monitoring
Data acquisition and processing to predict and identify potential incidents
Understanding and handling of large quantities of data, including artificial intelligence approach.
Remote monitoring via drones, satellite imagery, and ground-based radar
Distributed sensing techniques, applications, and case studies
ADAS systems and real-time decision support tools
Emergency preparedness through instrumentation-informed risk management
Remote sensing and AI for dam safety monitoring
Structural health assessments of aging dams
Flood Resiliency in Developed and Developing Countries
Dam operation for downstream flood attenuation
Real-time flood forecasting and reservoir routing
Adaptive design standards for increased hydrologic variability
Integration of dams with levees, wetlands, and green infrastructure
Flood early warning systems linked to dam operations
Community-based flood risk management around dam-regulated rivers and unregulated tributaries
Planning and design of emergency spillways
Urban flood resilience strategies with upstream detention
Lessons learned from recent extreme flood events globally
Risk communication and public education in flood-prone zones
Sedimentation Management and Reservoir Longevity
Sediment yield estimation and watershed erosion control
Sediment bypass, flushing, and sluicing techniques
Reservoir sedimentation modeling and monitoring
Adaptive sediment management policies for long-lived reservoirs
Impacts of sedimentation on storage, hydropower, and flood control
Managing sediment inflows during extreme flood events
Case studies of successful desiltation or capacity restoration
Designing dams and intakes to minimize sediment accumulation
Upstream and downstream sediment balance and channel morphology
Socio-environmental effects of reservoir sedimentation
Sediment management under changing rainfall regimes
Fish Passage, Biodiversity and Environmental Integration
Design and performance evaluation of fish ladders and lifts
Maintaining environmental flows to support aquatic ecosystems
Habitat connectivity and restoration downstream of dams
Integrating ecological concerns into dam design and operation
Multi-objective optimization: hydropower vs. biodiversity
Nature-based solutions and ecohydraulic modeling
Migratory fish behavior studies and adaptive passage designs
Reservoir habitat enhancement strategies
Biodiversity offsetting and conservation planning
Policy frameworks and compliance (e.g., EU WFD, US ESA, CBD)
Community Engagement in Dam Development
Culturally sensitive engagement strategies in dam development
Case studies in indigenous-led water and dam governance
Social impact assessments and benefit-sharing mechanisms
Post-resettlement livelihood restoration strategies
Protecting cultural and spiritual values tied to rivers
Participatory monitoring and co-management models
Building local capacity for long-term stewardship
Conflict resolution in dam-affected communities
Legal frameworks for indigenous rights and compensation
Tailings Dam Safety
- Advances in monitoring technologies for tailings facilities
Risk-based design approaches and consequence classification
Seepage control and dam stability analysis
Emergency preparedness for downstream communities
Regulatory compliance with international standards (e.g., GISTM)
Case studies of failures and lessons learned
Sustainable alternatives to tailings storage (e.g., filtered tailings)
Closure planning and post-closure risk mitigation
Seismic resilience and liquefaction risk
Stakeholder engagement and transparency in mining regions
Dam Decommissioning and Removal
Extending operational life versus decommissioning: Decision-making tools
Planning for partial versus full dam removal
Sediment management during decommissioning
Ecological restoration and river recovery post-removal
Social and legal challenges in dam removal decisions
Engineering and construction of safe removals
Environmental impact assessments and mitigation
Cultural heritage documentation and preservation
Cost-benefit analysis of decommissioning versus rehabilitation
Stakeholder engagement and communication strategies
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Abstract Information
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