CHAIR’S WELCOME
On behalf of the New Zealand Society on Large Dams (NZSOLD), it is my pleasure to invite you to our 2024 NZSOLD Symposium in Wellington, Te Whanganui-a-Tara. Our two-day Symposium will be held on 15 and 16 October 2024 at the Intercontinental Hotel in Wellington.
Our symposium caps a landmark year for dam safety and dam engineering in New Zealand, within an environment of regulatory, technical and political change. Our industry faces increased demands for energy and water security, while grappling with technical challenges including updated seismic and flood models. Above all, we must prioritise our mission to protect people, property and the environment from dam failure.
As we continue to advance our dam safety and dam engineering practices, this symposium provides a timely opportunity to share information on the upcoming 2024 updates to the New Zealand Dam Safety Guidelines. We will also reflect on a year of learnings from the interpretation and application of the recent 2023 guideline updates.
Our symposium convenors, Dewi Knappstein and Shreesh Basnyat, are leading the development of an exciting programme that covers some of the key challenges currently faced by our sector. Across two days, we will focus on two important themes: (1) Ensuring safety, and (2) Exploring engineering excellence.
Building on the broader themes of our 2023 symposium, our first day will be of particular value to those preparing and updating their dam safety systems and programmes ahead of regulatory deadlines.
Our second day will focus on technical updates and engineering excellence. The advancement of technical engineering practice has never been more important in our design, maintenance, and renewal of New Zealand’s critical water, waste, and energy assets. We can look forward to learning about updates to recommended practice for challenging aspects of investigation, design, and construction.
More broadly, our 2024 symposium provides a valuable platform to share experiences with friends and colleagues over two days in Wellington. We anticipate a fantastic opportunity to connect and reunite with fellow engineers, technical practitioners, owners, regulators, and our wider NZSOLD community. On behalf of NZSOLD and the symposium organising committee, we look forward to welcoming you to Wellington in October.
Kaley Crawford-Flett
NZSOLD Chair
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