On behalf of the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) Executive and the Conference Organising Committee I am delighted to invite people to the 2012 ANCOLD Conference to be held in Perth, Western Australia.

The event will be held at the Burswood Entertainment Complex located on the eastern bank of the picturesque Swan River. The complex is home to multiple accommodation and dining options and is only a few minutes from the vibrant Perth CBD. Perth is an excellent base to explore Western Australia’s multitude of attractions ranging from wide expanses of beaches and their surf breaks, vineyards, restaurants, shops, forests and wildflowers.

The conference will be held on 25^th and 26^th of October 2012 and will have a theme of: “The Importance of Dams in Our Developing Economy”. This theme explores the vital role that dams play in the continued development of our economy; in the areas of water storage and supply, energy storage and supply and tailings. The main conference theme is supported by a range of sub themes including:

• Operation of dams and reservoirs;
• Design and construction considerations of tailings facilities;
• Protecting communities (flood mitigation);
• Advances in dam safety management; and
• Environmental management

2012 will see the introduction of two parallel workshops on 24^th of October; an outlet works workshop and a tailings dam workshop. The workshops will be run concurrently and attendees will have the option of attending one of these events.

The outlet works workshop will be focused on open knowledge sharing and will include interactive participatory sessions. The output from this workshop will be used to help develop the formation of a new ANCOLD outlet works guideline that is currently in the early formative stages of development.

The tailings dam workshop will be a joint Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG) and ANCOLD event that will focus on the design of tailings storage facilities for seismic loading conditions. This event will encompass both operational and long term (post closure) considerations.

2012’s workshop choices will be joined by choices in post conference tours. A one day tour will be held on 27^th of October and will visit the Mundaring Weir Water Complex, taking in the dam, the new water treatment plant (under construction) and the national trust heritage museum on site. A two day tour will be held on 27^th and 28^th of October and will visit Stirling and Wellington Dams and the Water Corporation’s Binningup Desalination Plant as well as include an optional visit to an operational mine site. This tour will include an overnight stay in the heart of the Geographe Wine Region in Bunbury and will be sure to delight with its strong culinary focus.

In addition to these events, a full partners’ program will be held over the conference days. This program includes a cruise of culinary and wine delights to the upper reaches of the Swan River as well as Kings’ Park tour day complete with gourmet picnic delights.

I look forward to welcoming you, your partners and your colleagues to Perth in October 2012.

Michael Somerford
2012 Conference Convenor

2012 ANCOLD CONFERENCE ORGANISING COMMITTEE