What is BDS?

ICOLD Bulletins 211 and 212 Published

ICOLD Bulletin 211, Hydraulic and Structural Design of Chute Spillways with Stilling Basins and Upgrading of Spillways, is now available. It provides guidance on spillway design, energy dissipation and upgrading existing spillways. ICOLD Bulletin 212, Surveillance of Spillways, is also available. It provides guidance on inspecting and monitoring spillways, identifying deterioration and assessing their performance. Both documents can be downloaded from the ICOLD website - https://www.icold-cigb.org/GB/publications/bulletins.asp

ICOLD Webinar: Environmental Sustainability of Dams and Reservoirs

Members of ICOLD’s National and Technical Committees are invited to the fourth webinar in the Dams and Sustainability series.

The webinar will explore biodiversity, freshwater ecosystems, sediment management and water quality. It will also consider tools and strategies for improving environmental outcomes throughout the life cycle of dams and reservoirs.

For more information, refer to this flyer.

23rd Biennial Conference

Thank you to all those who joined us at the BDS 23rd Biennial Conference at Keele University from 9th to 12th September 2026. It was a fantastic event and it was great to see so many in the industry openly sharing their knowledge and experiences.

The full pdf of the proceedings is available through the conference app in ‘Useful Information’ and can also be downloaded from the conference pages on our website.

BDS Site Visits – Save the Dates

Further BDS site visits are being planned over the coming weeks. Further details and flyers will be available on the Events page of our website soon. Please note the following provisional dates: 

• Havant Thicket Reservoir, Portsmouth – 1st October, 10am 
• River Roding FDS, Essex (Visit 2) – 19th October, 12:30pm 

Next Evening Event: Update on New Reservoirs from Water Companies

BDS is hosting an evening event on 16th November 2026, from 6pm to 7:30pm, at the Godfrey Mitchell Theatre, ICE, One Great George Street, London. The session will provide an update from water companies on proposed new reservoir developments and associated industry progress. Follow this link for more information.