MAY 2017 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC Hot dam
Owners scrambling to keep up with new regulations by TOM WALKER
KAMLOOPS – BC’s 1,500- plus dams are key assets for landowners, but the responsibilities associated with them have changed frequently in recent years with updates to the province’s dam safety regulations. The latest round of updates came with BC’s new Water Sustainability Act, prompting the Cariboo Cattlemen’s Association to host a series of workshops this past winter in partnership with the Climate Action Initiative. Agricultural dams represent the majority of dams in the province, but many owners haven’t kept up with the shifting demands being placed on them. “One of the goals that the climate action meetings in the Cariboo identified was the need for information on the new dam regulations as well as information on how to maintain a dam in safe working order,” says Aaron Hahn, an engineer with Lake Country engineering firm Interior Dams Inc., which helped develop the workshops. The five workshops across
the Cariboo and Thompson- Okanagan regions walked agricultural dam owners through recent dam safety regulation updates and their responsibilities. All dam owners must
properly maintain, inspect and ensure their dams meet ongoing engineering standards to minimize the risk to people, property and the environment, for example. The spectacular failure of a dam at the head of Testalinden Creek near Oliver in 2010 underscored the importance of regular maintenance. The expanded and intensified use of adjacent properties also means that a dam once considered low-risk could now pose a serious threat. “Many of the dams across
BC are more than 50 years old and components of these dams are near or at the end of their design life,” Hahn adds. This has increased the
pressure on agricultural dam owners to keep up with current regulations and best practices. “The requirement for a dam
owner to maintain their dam is not a new responsibility,” Hahn says. “It is something that has been evolving in the province even before the original dam regulations of 2000. But there are some new requirements under the 2016 dam safety regulations that not all owners may be aware of.”
Integral Rotor
Matsqui Ag-Repair
Abbotsford, BC 604-826-3281
One noteworthy change is that the definition of a dam has expanded to include structures that store or divert water from an aquifer, as well as a stream, to align with the Water Sustainability Act’s jurisdiction over groundwater. The regulations apply to all dams across the province, except minor dams. But even a minor dam may be regulated. The new regulations also
require dam owners to review dam classification annually through a review of downstream conditions. If there is any change in classification, the regional dam safety officer must be notified and the owner must follow any additional procedures the new classification requires. “This has big implications
for dam owners,” says Hahn. “Many owners have not redetermined their dam classification since the structure was built and a lot of classifications will need to be changed.”
Dam classification reflects the potential downstream consequences of a dam failure. The regulation describes five, ranging from low (no possibility of loss of life other than through an unforeseeable misadventure; minimal short term effect on environmental or cultural
A mudslide that washed out Testalinden Creek, five homes and several orchards in Oliver in 2010 underscores the need for farmers and ranchers to maintain dams on their properties. WIKIPEDIA PHOTO
values, and minimal economic loss) to extreme (the possibility of more than 100 lives lost from a permanent population; major unrestorable loss of critical habitat, species or cultural sites, and extremely high economic losses). Size doesn’t matter; even a minor dam may face regulation if it has the potential to impact public safety, the environment or economy. Dam classification dictates
the procedures owners must follow to meet their responsibilities. Extreme, very high and high consequence dams require weekly surveillance unless otherwise specified, for example, while monthly inspections are sufficient for dams with a
significant classification. A low-consequence structure simply requires quarterly inspection. The inspections have their own responsibilities: operations testing, instrument readings, emergency plans, the development of operations–maintenance- safety manuals and dam safety reviews. The second requirement of all dam owners is that they must prepare, and annually review and update, a two-part dam emergency plan (DEP). The plan is a record that describes the actions that owners will take in the event of a dam emergency. It also records information about the dam and emergency contacts that will be sent to the local emergency authorities to use
in preparing local emergency plans under the BC Emergency Program Act. If a dam is of low consequence, only emergency contact information is required; a full DEP is not.
While some landowners question the increased responsibilities they face, the legacy of the Testalinden Creek dam failure, not to mention the more recent failure at Mount Polley, have put dam safety squarely in the public spotlight. The province wants to make sure dam owners are living up to public expectations, as well as protecting the public. “The consequences that
may arise from a dam failing are what is really driving the regulations,” Hahn says.
DENSITY WHERE IT COUNTS
25
VB 2200 SERIES VARIABLE CHAMBER ROUND BALERS
• Fast, consistent bale starting in diverse conditions • Simple, heavy-duty driveline and chains for reliability
Produces 4x5 and 4x6 bales Noble
Tractor & Equipment Armstrong, BC
250-546-3141
Tractor & Equipment Kamloops, BC
250-851-3101 Noble INVEST IN QUALITY®
KuhnNorthAmerica.com
Farm Equipment Prince George, BC
250-560-5431 Huber
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
