Bruce Feinberg, Bureau of Reclamation
Keynote speaker

Bruce Feinberg is a senior hydraulic engineer, with the Bureau of Reclamation since 1990. He specializes in dam failure inundation modeling, life loss consequences estimation and downstream hazard classification. Bruce was part of the Reclamation team which developed the Reclamation Consequences Estimating Methodology (RCEM) and he is involved with dam failure life loss simulation modeling using Life Safety Model and LifeSim .

Peter Lilley – Private consultant
Introduction to Consequence Assessment and Potential Impact Classification – speaker

Peter was born and raised on a sheep and cattle farm in Taranaki.  Over 30 years, his career has centered around the identification, development, operation, and safety of water resource assets.

He has worked both as a consultant and for a hydro-power owner with many dam and associated structures.  He currently works for himself.

Peter is a past Chairman of the New Zealand Society on Large Dam (NZSOLD) and represents NZSOLD on the Public Safety Committee of ICOLD (International Commission on Large Dams).  He is the lead author on the first ICOLD bulletin on public safety currently being drafted.

He has a passion for multi-purpose developments that deliver sustained value to a wide range of users, communities, and the environment.

Dewi Knappstein – Tonkin + Taylor
Potential Impact Classification – the New Zealand Approach – speaker

Dewi Knappstein is Tonkin + Taylor’s Business Leader (Dams) and a member of NZSOLD’s Management Committee.

She has 15 years’ experience, involving completion of consequence and PIC assessments, as well as interpreting the implications of PIC in her work on geotechnical investigation, hydraulic design, dam design, and dam safety management. Her experience is broadly based, derived from flood management, irrigation, water supply, hydroelectric and road projects across New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Dewi is passionate about sharing knowledge and supporting the development of emerging professionals.

James Smith – Damwatch
Case Study 1 and Group Work – facilitator

James is a Civil Engineer in the Water Resources team at Damwatch Engineering Ltd in Wellington. He is also a Regional Representative for NZSOLD’s Young Professionals Group. James has 4 years’ experience working in project teams to deliver new flood risk schemes on the client side, design of flood risk schemes and dams on the designer side and has undertaken several dam break assessments in New Zealand.

Bill Veale – Damwatch
Dam-break Modelling – speaker

Bill is a Senior Civil Engineer at Damwatch Engineering who has been working on dam and river engineering projects for over 15 years. He has worked mainly in New Zealand but also overseas on projects in Albania, Belgium, England, Pakistan and Vietnam. Bill has technical expertise in dam-break analysis and has assessed the potential consequence of failure for over 50 dams.

Paul Rivett – Riley Consultants Ltd
Population at Risk and Potential Loss of Life – speaker

Paul is a Project Director at Riley Consultants and has over 15 years’ experience working in dams and dam safety in New Zealand. He has completed numerous consequence assessments under the NZSOLD (New Zealand Society on Large Dams) Dam Safety Guidelines for all dam types. Many of these assessments have included interpreting various aspects of the Guidelines as they apply to Population at Risk and Potential Loss of Life.

Paul developed an interest in water resources engineering while working as an archaeologist in Thailand during the 1990s studying ancient ‘moated sites’ and the cultural use of water. 

Nathan Fletcher – Stantec
Damages to Property, Infrastructure, and the Environment – speaker
and
Advances in Practice – Use of GIS in intermediate and comprehensive assessments – speaker

Nathan (CPEng CMEngNZ) is a dam and water resources engineer with eighteen years of experience related to dams, canals, and hydraulic structures. He has an extensive background of dam work throughout New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. His key area of experience is in dam safety engineering, and he has completed numerous dam safety inspections and reporting to NZSOLD or ANCOLD guidelines.

His other areas of experience in dam safety relates to monitoring analysis and reporting, dam break assessments, potential impact classifications, flood/overflow capacity studies, and dam upgrade projects. Design experience extends to that related to dams, canals, hydropower schemes, and irrigation schemes (hydrology, hydraulic modelling, hydraulic structures, and cost estimating).

Emma Rudge – Riley Consultant Ltd
Case Study 2 and Group Work – facilitator

Emma is a Civil Engineer at Riley Consultants working as a graduate in the Christchurch Water Resources team. Since graduating in 2019, she has worked on a variety of dam safety projects including several consequence assessments. These assessments have involved dam-break modelling, as well as the interpretation of the NZSOLD Dam Safety Guidelines as they pertain to Population at Risk and Potential Loss of Life.

Hench Wang – HARC
Advances in Practice – HEC-LifeSim – speaker

Hench Wang is a hydrologist from Melbourne, Australia, with over six years of experience in hydrology, dambreak and consequence assessment modelling, managing a range of projects for Sunwater, Seqwater, WaterNSW and Melbourne Water. Hench is experienced in TUFLOW, RORB and HEC-LifeSim modelling and has contributed to the ANCOLD industry by publishing and presenting award winning papers in 2018 on the application of HEC-LifeSim to improve the consistency and robustness of consequence assessments, and 2019 on sharing lessons learnt with evacuation modelling.

Ryan Paulik – NIWA
Advances in Practice – RiskScape – speaker

Ryan is a natural hazards risk researcher with 13 years of combined professional and research experience in natural hazard risk assessment and management. He is the NIWA programme leader for the RiskScape joint-venture with GNS Science. His current research covers a broad range disciplines including natural hazard impact and risk assessment, post-event damage surveys, vulnerability modelling and software development for natural hazard impact and risk analysis. Ryan works with a range of government and non-government organisations to apply natural hazard impact and risk information in disaster risk management activities.

Paula Chapman – Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Environmental, Social, and Cultural Impacts of Extreme Flooding – speaker

Paula Chapman was the lead local controller during the April 2017 flood event (ex-tropical cyclone Debbie). The event is best remembered by the flooding of Edgecumbe Township due to a breach of the Rangitāiki River stopbank.  At that time Paula was the Manager Community Services for the Whakatāne District Council. Her involvement in Civil Defence dates back to the Eastern Bay of Plenty 2004 flood event. With a local government background in Community Asset Management and service delivery Paula is currently working with the Bay of Plenty Regional Council managing the infrastructure project to repair damaged assets as a result of the 2017 event.

Amy Moorhead – Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment
Facilitated panel debate – panel member 

Amy is Manager Building Policy at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.  The Building Policy Team provides policy advice on building performance and identifies and solves problems in the building and construction sector to support the construction of safe, healthy durable, better quality buildings.  The Team’s current priorities include delivering the Government’s Building System Legislative Reform Programme, dam safety regulations and changes to the retention money regime.

Prior to her current role, Amy spent four years as Director Group Operations for MBIE’s Building, Resources and Markets Group.

Amy has held a number of public sector policy and operational roles in building, construction and housing, including as private secretary to the Minister of Housing and Minister of Building and Housing.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts with Honours from Victoria University.