CyGS Presentation - Mickey Davachi

Description
The Calgary Geotechnical Society is pleased to host a presentation from Dr. Mickey Davachi, Senior Technical Director at WSP.
This presentation will be hosted at the Alt Hotel - East Village. No virtual option is available for this presentation. Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided.
Please register by Friday, November 6, 2026. Ticket sale ends at 5:30 pm.
Please note that limited tickets will be available at the door on the day of the presentation, which can be purchased only with cash or cheque. We recommend registering for the event in advance to guarantee your spot.
Event Details
Date: Tuesday, November 10, 2026
Time: 5:30 PM – 8:00 PM (MST)
Location: Alt Hotel Calgary East Village – Indigo Room, Calgary, Alberta
Format: In-person only
Schedule
5:30 pm to 6:00 pm - Doors open, networking & registration
6:00 pm to 6:45 pm - Technical Presentation
6:45 pm to 7:00 pm - Q&A
7:00 pm to 8:00 pm - Networking
Cost
$10+fees (General Admission) / Free (Student Admission)
Abstract
Teton Dam was an earth/rockfill embankment on the Teton River in Idaho, United States. It was 310 feet (94 m) high and 0.6 miles (1.0 km) long and created a reservoir 17 miles (27 km) in  length. It was designed by the USBR. Teton dam was designed and constructed to the modern  standards of the 1970s.
The dam suffered a catastrophic failure on June 5, 1976, as it was being filled for the first time. The collapse of the dam resulted in the deaths of 11 people. The dam cost about $100 million to  construct, and the federal government paid over $300 million in claims related to its failure. Total  damage estimates have ranged up to $2 billion. The dam has not been rebuilt.
Investigations of the Teton Dam failure attributed the catastrophe to a series of design,  management and construction related deficiencies. These inadequacies related primarily to the foundation treatment at the dam and adherence to the overall construction schedule. It was  determined the most probable physical failure mode was cracking of the dam’s low permeability core due to internal erosion initiated by hydraulic fracturing of the key trench fill material.
This presentation will describe the geotechnical investigations and geological conditions at the  dam site, the design and construction of the Teton dam, and its cause of failure.
Speaker Biography
Dr. Mickey Davachi is a Fellow Geotechnical Engineer and a Senior Technical Director with WSP.  He has over 50 years of diverse experience in providing technical specialist review and advise, Independent Technical Review Board (ITRB) member, Engineer of Record (EOR), Design  Engineer of Record (DEOR), International Consultant, project management, expert witness, study,  planning, geotechnical investigation, design, construction, risk assessment, including Failure  Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA), Potential Failure Mode Analysis (PFMA), Hazard  Identification and Risk Assessment (HIRA) and Risk Informed Performance Based Decision  Making (RIPBDM), dam safety review and safety evaluation for a wide variety of Canadian and  International industry sectors including large-scale, mining, tailings, oil sands, multi-disciplinary  hydroelectric, water power, water resources, wind power, ports, marine, industrial and major civil  engineering projects. His experience includes over 500 earthfill, rockfill, roller compacted  concrete (RCC), concrete faced rockfill (CFRD), and concrete dams and tunnels.
Dr. Davachi is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (FASCE), an ASCE’s Board  Certified Geotechnical Engineer (BCGE) and an active member of the International Commission  on Large Dams (ICOLD), and Canadian Dam Association (CDA).