Monday, February 6 | 8–9:30 am

Scott Mensing
COL Travis Rayfield

Breakfast Keynote | Kansas City Levees Project: Reliability and Resilience

Scott Mensing, PE, PMP and COL Travis Rayfield, PE, PMP, Army Corps of Engineers – Kansas City District

The $529M KC Levees program is one of the largest, most complex Civil Works projects delivered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – Kansas City District. The program will improve the reliability and resiliency of 17 miles of levees and floodwalls along the Kansas River in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

This collaborative effort between USACE and three non-federal partners will reduce flood risk for approximately 30,000 people, more than $10 billion in investments, and a nationally critical warehousing, distribution, and railroad hub.

The presentation highlights USACE’s flood-risk-reduction mission, explains why and how risk is being further reduced in Kansas City, and provides insight into techniques used to deliver this critical community project successfully.

Tuesday, February 7 | 8–9:30 am

JP Giroud

Robert M. Koerner Award and Lecture | A Conversation with JP Giroud

JP Giroud, ECP, Ph.D., Past President, International Geosynthetics Society

Dr. Giroud will join live from France for a lecture followed by an interview-style Q&A session. Attendees are invited to submit questions for potential inclusion in the discussion.

From Zero Leak at End of Geomembrane Installation to Zero Leakage in Service

Zero leak at the end of geomembrane installation may be nearly achieved when electrical leak location surveys are performed by first-class operators under ideal conditions, and nearly zero leakage in service is a legitimate goal under ideal conditions.

However, failures of geomembrane-lined containment facilities still occur, often because of improper design and resulting in significant leakage. The lecture will present failure mechanisms, include actual examples where possible, and recommend design measures to avoid each specific failure mechanism.

The approach presented focuses on reducing leakage to a level where predicted consequences are acceptable for the facility and its environment. The lecture concludes by emphasizing that geomembranes are essential for environmental protection by preventing contaminant migration and reducing water waste.