Symposium Overview
Building on the success of the 2009 and 2011 Case Studies Workshops entitled "Learning from International Dam Incidents and Failures" and "Learning from International Best Practices, Incidents and Failures: Improving the Operational Reliability of Flow Control Equipment for Dams and Hydropower Stations" held in Los Angeles, CA and Las Vegas, NV, CEATI International's spring 2012 hydro industry event "Penstock Symposium: Learning from International Best Practices, Incidents and Failures" will focus on engineering and maintenance strategies to prevent Penstock incidents and failures as well as industry best practices.

Supported by over 60 hydro utilities from around the world, CEATI's Hydraulic Plant Life and Dam Safety Interest Groups have once again combined forces to develop the hydro industry's premier utility and dam owner focused gathering.

Managing the risk of owning and operating hydropower projects requires the best available knowledge to improve reliability, recognize potential failure modes and understand the associated consequences. It is imperative that dam and hydro plant owners, regulators and consulting engineers maintain expertise and knowledge in these important areas. The retirement of experienced personnel leaves today's hydropower professionals with fewer opportunities to gain experience. As such, the combined knowledge of the hydropower community can be shared in order to minimize risks to the public and to hydropower assets.

• Educate each other
• Provide knowledge and procedures necessary to manage the risks associated with dams and powerhouses
• Identify areas where additional research may improve our knowledge of potential failure modes (via a system evaluation and analysis) and identify ways to prevent or mitigate their development
• Identify ways to assure that the knowledge of the past is available for the future
• Develop a strategy to ensure the continuation of global communication, coordination and collaboration