From September 27 to October 3, 2024, the 92nd ICOLD Annual Meeting & International Symposium was held in New Delhi, India. At the invitation of the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD), Professor Huang Yan, President of China Three Gorges University (CTGU) and Professor-Level Senior Engineer, led a delegation to the meeting in her capacity as Chair of ICOLD Technical Committee S: Flood Evaluation and Dam Safety.
Photo 1: Participants at the 92nd ICOLD Annual Meeting & International Symposium in New Delhi, India.
At the meeting, the global technical bulletin Flood Risk Assessment, for which Professor Huang served as chief editor, was unanimously approved and officially released. The release represents state-of-the-art research achievements in global flood risk assessment. It also marks an important breakthrough for CTGU in contributing to the formulation of international standards for water conservancy, further enhancing China’s international influence in the fields of water conservancy and hydropower.
Photo 2: The 92nd ICOLD Annual Meeting & International Symposium.
The technical bulletin Flood Risk Assessment brings together the expertise of leading specialists from more than 20 countries, including China, Canada, Australia and Norway. Its release demonstrates extensive international cooperation. To further expand the global influence of the bulletin, the committee was also advancing a French translation to promote wider understanding and adoption, and to contribute expertise and solutions to global flood risk management.
During the meeting, Professor Huang attended the Committee Chairs’ Meeting and delivered an annual report on the committee’s work. She also chaired the special symposium and annual meeting of ICOLD Technical Committee S: Flood Evaluation and Dam Safety. At the symposium, she delivered an academic presentation titled “Assessment of Dam Safety using Digital Twin Technology,” introducing methods for dam safety performance assessment based on intelligent sensing, Internet of Things (IoT) data acquisition and digital twin technology, as well as achievements in the development of dam safety monitoring and automation systems. Her presentation received high recognition from ICOLD and delegates from participating countries, and generated extensive discussion.
Photo 3: Professor Huang Yan attends a meeting of ICOLD Technical Committee S: Flood Evaluation and Dam Safety.
Photo 4: Professor Huang Yan delivers an academic presentation titled “Assessment of Dam Safety using Digital Twin Technology.”
Professor Li Changwen from the College of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering of China Three Gorges University also attended the meeting, further strengthening CTGU’s professional representation in the international water conservancy community.
According to the report, ICOLD Technical Committee S: Flood Evaluation and Dam Safety, chaired by Professor Huang, was comprehensively advancing the formulation of international standards and technical guidelines in the field of water conservancy. The technical bulletin Extreme Flood Estimation and Associated Uncertainty was scheduled to be submitted for review at the 93rd ICOLD Annual Meeting in 2025. The committee had also developed plans for a series of new technical bulletins covering cutting-edge topics such as flood risk management, dam safety assessment based on digital twin technology, and flood risk and dam safety management for small reservoirs.
As noted in the original report, ICOLD is widely recognized as an authoritative international academic organization in the global water conservancy sector. At the time of the report, it had 104 national members, covering more than 95 percent of the countries where reservoirs and dams are located. Its mission is to promote technological progress in the planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance of reservoirs, dams, and water conservancy and hydropower projects through information exchange. ICOLD holds an annual meeting every year and a congress every three years, and has a far-reaching influence on the international water conservancy, hydropower and dam engineering sectors.
