Energy
Subsurface As-Built Verification for Solar Field
BDI was contracted by Delta Oaks Group (DOG), Environmental Resources Management (ERM), and Dominion Energy to investigate a former landfill in Montrose, Virginia. The project team needed to better understand the extent and depth of a landfill cover that had been installed in 1978, despite the absence of historical construction records, site plans, or geotechnical…
Read MoreNondestructive Evaluation of Concrete Bulkheads at Allatoona Lake Dam
BDI was engaged by the owner of the Allatoona Lake Dam near Cartersville, Georgia, to evaluate the condition of two concrete bulkheads located on the dam’s downstream side. These bulkheads provide the potential for future hydroelectric capacity expansion, making their condition an important factor in long-term asset management and infrastructure planning. To assess the structures,…
Read MoreTelecom Tower Foundation Evaluation
Telecom tower owners rely on accurate foundation information to support asset management decisions, structural analyses, and antenna upgrades. When design drawings are unavailable or unreliable, BDI helps owners determine foundation dimensions without costly excavation. For more than a decade, BDI has performed unknown foundation investigations for telecommunications infrastructure using advanced nondestructive testing technologies. Engineers first…
Read MoreUltrasonic Testing of Spillway Gate Anchor Bars
BDI was contracted by the Grant County Public Utility District to evaluate the condition of spillway gate anchor bars at Priest Rapids Dam in Washington State. As a key component of the Columbia River hydroelectric system, the dam relies on these concrete embedded anchor bars to safely support and operate its spillway gates. Because the…
Read MoreBDI’s Charles Young Featured in Hydro Leader Feb Issue
Check out BDI’s own Charlie Young in this month’s issue of the Hydro Leader magazine. Charlie discusses his own professional journey as well as BDI’s history in providing technical expertise and field services for the hydropower sector.
Read MoreWanapum/Priest Rapids Automation
Wanapum Dam and Priest Rapids Dam, located on the Columbia River in central Washington, are hydroelectric dams which have operated since 1963 and 1961, respectively. The structures play a crucial role in the region’s power generation, along with supporting irrigation, recreation, and fish passage. Both dams are owned and operated by the Grant County Public…
Read MoreEnhancing Flood Control Reliability at Waterbury Dam
During routine maintenance at Waterbury Dam, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) identified operational behaviors suggesting potential excess resistance in the gates’ trunnion pins. that raised concerns about the performance of the dam’s spillway gates. Given the critical role these gates play in flood control, ensuring reliability of the dam’s spillway gates was essential.…
Read MoreSupporting Miter Gate Maintenance on the Upper Mississippi River
BDI has partnered with the St. Paul District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to support ongoing maintenance operations at Lock & Dam sites along the Upper Mississippi River. In the winter, during the off-season for river traffic, these sites are dewatered on a scheduled cycle to allow for inspection and maintenance of key structural components,…
Read MoreTiger Creek Gates
Tiger Creek Afterbay Dam, originally constructed in 1931, stands approximately 120 feet tall and 400 feet wide. It features ten spillways equipped with steel Tainter gates and is owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E). BDI had previously performed pin friction testing on these gates in 2015, and returned in 2024 to reassess…
Read MoreLake Limestone Spillway
Sterling C. Robertson Dam impounds the Navasota River forming Lake Limestone, which serves primarily as a water supply reservoir. The dam, completed in 1978, features an approximately 250-foot-wide concrete service spillway which has been slated for significant rehabilitation. As part of the rehabilitation effort, BDI was engaged by Stantec to locate and measure the extent…
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