Incorporating Dam Break Concerns in School Site Selection

Site selection for new public schools in urbanizing areas involves a variety of decision factors. In particular, various risk factors must be assessed to assure the safety of students attending school. These risk factors typically include items such as earthquake potential, separation distance from airport runways, and proximity to waste-disposal sites and other environmental hazards. One additional risk factor that should be considered is the potential for flood inundation of a school site due to dam failure, should a prospective site be located downstream of a reservoir. Dam failures rarely occur; however, when they do, the potential for damage and destruction is tremendous. Historically, dam-break flooding has not been a significant factor in either school site selection, or the planning and development of many public and private facilities. Based on a case study involving the Perris Reservoir in southern California, the flooding from a potential dam break is evaluated, and the results are utilized to illustrate how this risk factor can be incorporated into the decision-factor matrix for the selection of new public school sites.