Lelio Mejia, Ph.D., P.E., G.E. (California) has been selected by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to serve on the Independent Review Board (IRB) for DWR's comprehensive needs assessment (CNA) project for the Oroville Dam facilities.

Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the nation with a height of over 770 feet, a crest length of about 1 mile, and an embankment volume of about 80 million cubic yards. In February 2017, an incident with the dam's service spillway led to an emergency that required the evacuation of over 180,000 people. The purpose of the CNA is to identify measures to restore and improve the safety and reliability of Oroville Dam and its appurtenant structures. The role of the IRB is to provide an independent review of the approach and execution of the CNA project tasks and deliverables. The IRB held its first meeting in June 2018 and issued its first report. Additional info can be found in the Mercury News article and on the California Department of Water Resources website linked below.

Lelio is a Senior Principal Engineer based in Oakland, California with more than 35 years of experience in geotechnical and earthquake engineering. For many years, he has focused on the challenges of dam and levee engineering and is a leading international authority in this field, with emphasis on the seismic design and performance of dam structures. Lelio leads Geosyntec's Western U.S. dams and levees practice and is a registered civil and geotechnical engineer.

DWR convened the IRB to conduct independent technical reviews of key deliverables and document its review of DWR's work products. The members of the IRB are national experts with diverse technical expertise, experiences and perspectives. Their expertise covers disciplines in geotechnical, hydraulics, structures or hydraulic structures, operations, engineering geology, and environmental resources. Collectively, they have experience with safety and dam design modification of large dams, complex multi-purpose dam safety operations and projects, large government organizations, water policy, environmental science, and stakeholder engagement.

More Information

Read the article: Mercury News
Learn more: California Department of Water Resources.
For consultation regarding Dam Design and Construction, contact Lelio Mejia at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Learn more about Lelio at: https://www.geosyntec.com/people/lelio-mejia