DAMTAGS

Together, the Oklahoma Water Resources Center, the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and the USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service are developing a variety of engineering tools, design guidance documents, and computer software applications for monitoring, inspecting, and rehabilitating earthen floodwater control dams.  

 

The Dam Analysis Modernization of Tools, Applications, Guidance, and Standardization (DAM-TAGS) project started in March 2021 as a response to the aging dams across the country built under the USDA Small Watershed Program authorities. Like roads and bridges, dams age, too. It is important to be vigilant of these structures to ensure they continue to function as intended. As these structures begin to exceed their planned service life, research is needed to find more effective approaches for monitoring, inspecting, and rehabilitating these aging dams, as well as determine how these dams may be impacted by the environment and changes in land use conditions within their associated watersheds. DAM-TAGS was initiated to help ensure these USDA-constructed dams remain safe and functional. 

 

The project has multiple components, including writing new and revising existing guidance documents; establishing a cloud-based network for monitoring data from reservoirs and levees; and developing training curricula on these new tools for delivery via webinars, hands-on learning workshops, videos, and field demonstrations. Project researchers are collaborating with other universities, as well as private partners in developing remote sensing arrays connected to a central network, utilizing drones for aerial monitoring of watersheds, and exploring social and economic aspects of conservation practices, flood control, insurance policies, and federal and state assistance during extreme weather events.  

 

The OWRC and partners are also collaborating with the ARS Partnerships for Data Innovations (PDI) team. The PDI team will help establish a dam monitoring network framework, including software development for data collection, management, and transfer. They will collaborate on the development of geographic information system based tools for dam monitoring and inspection, an application programming interface to transfer data collected through this project to collaborators and stakeholders, and a decision support informatics platform to facilitate communications between researchers and stakeholders.  

 

This project is a preventive measure to maintain these structures and ensure future generations can enjoy the same benefits the dams offer. 

 

PDI Team

The Oklahoma Water Resources Center is collaborating with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service’s Partnerships for Data Innovations initiative. The USDA-Agricultural Research Service created the PDI initiative to develop and implement tools and technologies to capture, access, manipulate, share, visualize, and apply agricultural data for ARS scientists and collaborators.  

 

The PDI team works nationwide with ARS scientists across disciplines and uses their data to speed innovation and transfer technologies to the agricultural community. New technology has exponentially increased the quality and quantity of scientific data across all agricultural research. To successfully integrate, store, serve, and analyze large and diverse datasets, new data infrastructure, tools, and automation need to be employed.  

 

PDI provides project-specific services to develop and roll-out secure customized data management solutions and support. Their services include data visualization and communication, data gathering and collaborative tools, research automation, database design and development, along with services and data hosting/serving. 

 

Data visualizations and communication entails creating the means of effectively displaying and sharing research outcomes through dashboards and online data maps. Data gathering and development creates custom user tools for scientists and collaborators to facilitate data capture and transfer directly to a national ARS data repository. Research automation aims to improve efficiency and accuracy through streamlining laboratory and field data collection processes. Database design and development involves standardizing database formats  for improved data discovery and integrated analysis on the PDI cloud environment. Data hosting provides access to secure cloud storage, catalyzing information sharing among research collaborators.  

 

To date, 92 PDI projects have partnered with 150 organizations at nearly 50 locations nationwide. 

 

Partners

• USDA-Agricultural Research Services 
• USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service