January 10, 2024 Maryland Section Event

ASCE MD Section Event

Advancing Dam Safety: A Comprehensive Approach to Stormwater Management Dam Retrofit - The Gerwig Lane Experience

Speaker: B. Gregory Adolph, PE, McCormick Taylor

Wednesday, January 10, 2024 @ 6PM

Stormwater management dams, particularly those erected in the 20th century, face a pressing challenge in adapting to contemporary hydrological demands. With increasing land development and escalating precipitation intensity linked to climate change, many dams fall short of meeting current design storm routing criteria. The Gerwig Lane Dam, situated in Howard County Maryland, serves as a poignant case study. Its rehabilitation in 2023 addresses the imperative for upgrades, given its reclassification as high hazard for the potential inundation of a major highway (MD 32). Meeting stringent Dam Safety criteria while seamlessly integrating into the surrounding community necessitates innovative solutions.

Gerwig Lane dam's high hazard classification demands capacity to route the Probable Maximum Flood (PMF), a complex undertaking given the constraints of available land and surrounding development. A geosynthetic revetment system emerged as the most effective solution. This approach allows the dam to safely overtop while efficiently conveying the PMF storm replacing the need for concrete or riprap erosion protection. The geosynthetic revetment system was successfully installed in Spring 2023 and is the first application of its kind in the State of Maryland.

About the Speaker: B. Gregory Adolph, P.E. (Greg) is a water resources expert specializing in complex and intricate projects predominantly in the mid-Atlantic region. His knowledge in the rehabilitation of earthfill dams stems from nearly two decades of experience as a consulting engineer and specialist in the construction materials supply industries. He currently serves as a project manager for McCormick Taylor, Inc focused on remedial drainage design, embankment rehabilitation, and transportation improvement projects statewide.

Mr. Adolph is a licensed professional engineer in Maryland and three other states where he has grown a rapport for practical solutions to difficult problems. He has participated in the rehabilitation of more than five significant or high hazard dams in Maryland. In that capacity he provided expert opinion for application of a geosynthetic membrane to protect an earthen embankment against the potential for erosion during a probable maximum flooding event.

A native of Harford County, Maryland, Mr. Adolph graduated from Hampden Sydney College with a BS in physics.