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  • Toward Systemic Beneficial use of Dredged Sediments in San Pablo Bay: Demonstration of a Proposed Framework for Matching Sediment Needs with Dredging Requirements

    Abstract: Coastal wetlands provide a suite of valuable ecosystem services, but they are rapidly disappearing due to reductions in sediment supply and rising sea levels, making them ideal candidates for restoration through beneficial use of dredged sediment. Because sediment dredged from navigation channels is a limited resource relative to the number of degraded wetlands, a framework has been developed to align coastal restoration sediment needs with dredging requirements to maximize social, environmental, and flood risk reduction benefits while also completing the navigation mission. The framework is comprised of four key steps: (1) geographic scoping and suitability considerations, (2) quantification of the dredged sediment available and restoration project sediment needs, (3) definition of cost and benefit objectives, and (4) optimization of costs and benefits to determine the most efficient solutions. This report is a demonstration of this framework on a subset of wetland sites and local federal navigation channels in San Pablo Bay, California.
  • Risk-Based Prioritization of Operational Condition Assessments: Trinity River and Willamette River Case Studies

    Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates, maintains, and man-ages over 700 dams and 4,000 miles of levees, providing approximately $257 billion worth of economic benefit to the Nation. USACE employs the Operational Condition Assessment (OCA) process to understand the condition of those assets and allocate resources to minimize risk associated with performance degradation. Understanding risk in flood risk management (FRM) assets requires an understanding of consequence of asset failure from a systemwide FRM watershed perspective and an understanding of likelihood of degradation based on the condition of the low-level components derived from OCA ratings. This research demonstrates a case-study application of a scalable methodology to model the likelihood of a dam performing as expected given the state of its gates and their components. The research team combines this likelihood of degradation with consequences generated by the application of designed simulation experiments with hydrological models to develop risk measures. These risk measures can be developed for all FRM gate assets in order to enable traceable, consistent resource allocation decisions. Two case study applications are provided.
  • Resilience Modeling for Civil Military Operations with the Framework Incorporating Complex Uncertainty Systems

    Abstract: Framework Incorporating Complex Uncertain Systems (FICUS) provides geographic risk analysis capabilities that will dramatically improve military intelligence in locations with the Engineer Research and Development’s (ERDC) demographic and infrastructure models built and calibrated. When completed, FICUS would improve intelligence products by incorporating existing tools from the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, ERDC, and FICUS prototype models, even in places without demographic or infrastructure capabilities. FICUS would support higher-fidelity intelligence analysis of population, environmental, and infrastructure interaction in areas with Human Infrastructure System Assessment (HISA) and urban security models built and calibrated. This technical report will demonstrate FICUS prototype tools that allow Civil Affairs Soldiers to provide situational awareness information via a browser interface.
  • Risk-Based Prioritization of Operational Condition Assessments: Methodology and Case Study Results

    Abstract: USACE operates, maintains, and manages more than $232 billion of the Nation’s water resource infrastructure. USACE uses the Operational Condition Assessment (OCA) to allocate limited resources to assess condition of this infrastructure in efforts to minimize risks associated with performance degradation. The analysis of risk associated with flood risk management (FRM) assets includes consideration of how each asset contributes to its associated FRM watershed system, understanding the consequences of the asset’s performance degradation, and a determination of the likelihood that the asset will perform as expected given the current OCA condition ratings of critical components. This research demonstrates a proof-of-concept application of a scalable methodology to model the probability of a dam performing as expected given the state of its gates and their components. The team combines this likelihood of degradation with consequences generated by the application of designed simulation experiments with hydrological models to develop a risk measure. The resulting risk scores serve as an input for a mixed-integer optimization program that outputs the optimal set of components to conduct OCAs on to minimize risk in the watershed. This report documents the results of the application of this methodology to two case studies.
  • Incorporating Social and Environmental Outputs in Decision-Making: Workshop Outcomes

    PURPOSE: This document summarizes the notable outcomes of the workshop “Quantifying and Incorporating Social and Environmental Outputs in Decision-Making—Research and Development Needs and Strategy Workshop.” The workshop was held 24 and 25 July 2019 in Alexandria, Virginia, at the US Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) Institute for Water Resources (IWR). The workshop sought to identify gaps in knowledge, methods, data, and tools and to identify types of subject matter experts who would be needed for the research team. A total of 22 participants attended the facilitated workshop, representing a broad array of expertise: economists, scientists, planners, social scientists, project managers, and researchers from a number of USACE organizations and partnering academics across the United States. Together, these attendees reviewed existing policy and research and prioritized future work to fill gaps in methods and procedures for incorporating social and environmental inputs across a broad range of USACE projects.
  • Informing the Community Engagement Framework for Natural and Nature-based Projects: An Annotated Review of Leading Stakeholder and Community Engagement Practices

    Abstract: In its infrastructure development work, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) engages and collaborates with numerous local, state, and national stakeholders. Projects incorporating innovative approaches, such as beneficial use (BU) of dredged materials and other natural and nature-based features (NNBF), are often not well-understood by stakeholders, including those at the community level. This often results in conflicts and project delays. By sponsoring the development of a Community Engagement Framework, the Dredging Operations and Environmental Research (DOER) program hopes to systematically improve how project teams design, conduct, and measure effective community engagement on infrastructure projects. The purpose of this focused Review was to assesses leading stakeholder and community engagement practices that reflect the state of practice of stakeholder engagement within USACE, and by other leading organizations in the US and internationally, to inform development of the Community Engagement Framework. While the resulting Framework will be particularly well-suited for community engagement on projects incorporating BU and other NNBF, it will be applicable to a broad range of USACE Civil Works’ initiatives where effective stakeholder engagement is critical to project success. The assessment showed the practice of stakeholder engagement has evolved significantly over the past 30 years, with much more focus today on ensuring that engagement processes are purposeful, meaningful, collaborative, and inclusive - reflecting stakeholders’ desire to participate in co-creating sustainable solutions that produce environmental, economic, and social benefits. This, and other key findings, are informing development of the Community Engagement Framework which is scalable and adaptable to a broad range of projects across the USACE missions.
  • Risk-Based Prioritization of Operational Condition Assessments: Jennings Randolph Case Study

    Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) operates, maintains, and manages over $232 billion worth of the Nation’s water resource infrastructure. Using Operational Condition Assessments (OCA), the USACE allocates limited resources to assess asset condition in efforts to minimize risks associated with asset performance degradation, but decision makers require a greater understanding of those risks. The analysis of risk associated with Flood Risk Management assets in the context of its associated watershed system includes understanding the consequences of the asset’s failure and a determination of the likelihood that the asset will perform as expected given the current OCA ratings of critical components. This research demonstrates an application of a scalable methodology to model the probability of a dam performing as expected given the state of its subordinate gates and their components. The research team combines this likelihood with consequences generated by the application of designed simulation experiments with hydrological models to develop a measure of risk. The resulting risk scores serve as an input for an optimization program that outputs the optimal set of components to conduct OCAs on to minimize risk in the watershed. Proof-of-concept results for an initial case study on the Jennings Randolph Dam are provided.
  • Investigating the USACE Operational Condition Assessment Process Current and Future

    Abstract: The US Army Corps of Engineers operates, maintains, and manages more than $232 billion worth of the Nation’s water resource infrastructure and relies on the Operational Condition Assessment (OCA) process to determine the condition of the assets and their components. The sheer number of components, all of equal OCA scheduling priority, creates challenges in ensuring that assessments are conducted in a timely manner and that data generated are of sufficient quality to inform resource allocation decisions. This research applied methods from systems design to determine the OCA system “as-is” state and create a stakeholder-informed vision of a “to-be” state that addresses current system challenges. To meet its objective of providing current assessments of asset condition, the OCA system must provide four high-level functions: provide access to asset data, conduct assessments, determine asset risk, and prioritize and schedule assessments. The development of capabilities to provide these functions will facilitate the achievement of the OCA system to-be vision: a consistent view of asset condition and risk across the enterprise.
  • PUBLICATION NOTICE: Insights: An Update of the USACE Data Strategy Initiative; November 2019 Edition

    Abstract: The Data25 strategy was advanced in FY19 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Chief Information Officer (USACE CIO) by funding pilots to show the power of data analytics on real USACE operations. This report details pilots that were conducted in three of USACEs Business Lines; Dredging, Hydropower, and Military Construction. The purposes for each of these pilots are listed below. 1. Enterprise value: Demonstrates the power of data analytics and its ability to generate business value by improving decision-making across the organization. 2. Technology value: Helps the CIO understand how cloud technology could support the overall data strategy. 3. Business value: Provides examples of data analytics in action. This view helps the Business Lines, Divisions, and Districts understand what it takes to supplement decision-making with insights generated from data. The main purpose of the pilots was to provide a glimpse of what could be gained from data analytics. From the initial business questions, the pilot Business Lines are seeking to use data to improve decisions through the automation of business processes, more rapid decision cycles, and the layering of previously siloed data on their own to reveal new insights.
  • PUBLICATION NOTICE: Insights: An Update on the USACE Data Strategy Initiative; April 2019 Edition

    Abstract: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineering (USACE) Commanding General, LTG Todd T. Semonite, announced 10 initiatives on May 2018 to improve execution through informed decision-making, enabling lower costs, and world-class engineering results today and tomorrow. Two of the initiatives were geared to transition USACE to data-informed decision-making through the use of data analytics. The first of these two initiatives sought to implement a data strategy that included a doctrine and governance, through creation of a data management plan. The plan implemented tools to aggregate data across the organization and improve reporting. Dr. Cary Butler, USACE Chief Data Scientist, led this effort. The second initiative sought to establish a dedicated USACE Innovations Team to build and recruit a skilled team to act as finders and enablers of innovative, enterprise solutions that enabled USACE to become a digital business. The USACE Chief Information Officer oversaw both initiatives. Because goals and objectives overlapped in many areas and gathered momentum for these initiatives, leaders from both teams came together and decided that showing the business value of data analytics to improve decision making across the Corps should be a top priority. This document was used to report on the progress of the initiatives and give a better understanding of the need for data-informed decisions throughout USACE.