BDS Conferences
BDS Conferences
Previous Conferences
Conference delegates may access electronic copies of the conference proceedings, access to the proceedings for conferences from 2012 require login credentials, which are issued with the conference joining instructions.
Since 1990 conference proceedings have been published by Thomas Telford (now ICE Publishing) and are available from the ICE Bookshop.
A list of the previous BDS conferences is shown below.
2024 - 22nd Biennial Conference, Keele - Managing Risks for Dams and Reservoirs
2022 - 21st Biennial Conference, Nottingham - Dams and Reservoirs in a Climate of Change
2018 - 20th Biennial Conference, Swansea - Smart Dams and Reservoirs
2016 - 19th Biennial Conference, Lancaster - Dams – Benefits and Disbenefits;
Assets or Liabilities?
2014 - 18th Biennial Conference, Belfast - Maintaining the safety of our Dams and Reservoirs
2012 - 17th Biennial Conference, Leeds - Dams: Engineering in a Social and Environmental Context
2010 - 16th Biennial Conference, Strathclyde - Managing Dams: Challenges in a Time of Change
2008 - 15th Biennial Conference, Warwick - Ensuring Reservoir Safety into the Future
2006 - 14th Biennial Conference, Durham - Improvements in Reservoir Construction, Operation and Maintenance
2004 - 13th Biennial Conference, Canterbury - Long Term Benefits and Performance of Dams
2002 - 12th Biennial Conference, Dublin – Reservoirs in a Changing World
2000 - 11th Biennial Conference, Bath – Dams 2000
1998 - 10th Biennial Conference, Bangor – The Prospect for Reservoirs in the 21st Century
1996 - 9th Biennial Conference, York – The Reservoir as an Asset
1994 - 8th Biennial Conference, Exeter – Reservoir Safety and the Environment
1992 - 7th Biennial Conference, Stirling – Water Resources and Reservoir Engineering
1990 - 6th Biennial Conference, Nottingham – The Embankment Dam
1988 - 5th Biennial Conference, Manchester – Reservoir Renovation
1986 - 4th Biennial Conference, Edinburgh – Reservoirs 1986
1984 - 3rd Biennial Conference, Cardiff – 1984 Conference
1982 - 2nd Biennial Conference, Keele – 1982 Conference
1975 - 1st Biennial Conference, Newcastle – Inspection, Operation and Improvement of Existing Dams
Bibliography of BDS Conference Papers
The British Dam Society commissioned Paul Tedd to write short summaries of all papers published in the proceedings of the 18 BDS Conferences from 1975 to 2014, which can be accessed via the above button in the form of an Excel spreadsheet. Inevitably some errors will have occurred in the preparation of these summaries. Anyone finding errors should contact Paul Tedd at paultedd@hotmail.co.uk and suitable amendments will be made.
Geoffrey Binnie Lecture
This is the premier lecture of BDS and was formerly known as the BNCOLD lecture. It was renamed as the "Geoffrey Binnie Lecture" as it was endowed by Binnie and Partners. The lecture is presented at the BDS conference. The choice of lecturer is the responsibility of the Main Committee.
BNCOLD lecturers
| 1984 | NJ Cochrane | Insidious threats to dams and reservoirs |
| 1986 | FG Johnson | Experience with the concrete dams of the North of Scotland Hydro Electric Board |
| 1988 | DJ Coats | The concerns of a dam engineer |
Geoffrey Binnie lecturers
| 1990 | PA Back | The ultimate dam |
| 1992 | W Pircher | 36000 large dams ? and still more needed |
| 1994 | MF Kennard | Four decades of development of British embankment dams |
| 1996 | TPC van Robbroeck | Reservoirs - Bane or boon |
| 1998 | JA Charles | The lives of embankment dams - Construction to old age. |
| 2000 | TA Johnston | Taken for granted |
| 2002 | GP Sims | The challenge for british dam engineers |
| 2004 | RE Coxon | Matters related to adverse incidents associated with dams and the role of Review-Boards |
| 2006 | CJA Binnie | Dams, responding to society's needs |
| 2008 | W Carlyle | The Binnie heritage in dam engineering |
| 2010 | J Cowie | Hydropower and Panel Engineers – a lasting legacy |
| 2012 | JL Hinks | The Modern Dam Engineer |
| 2014 | GA Cooper OBE | The Heritage of Dams in Northern Ireland |
| 2016 | Dr PJ Mason | Dam Engineering: the last 50 years and the next 50 years |
| 2018 | M Cambridge | The Role of Inspection and Monitoring in Risk and Asset Management: Prescription or Guidance? |
| 2022 | T Hill |