| Safety
Left: An RAF chinook helicopter starts to repair the damaged dam spillway at Toddbrook Reservoir in England on 2 August 2019. Floods Minister Rebecca Pow said that such incidents are very rare in this country
● Considering the rail and nuclear industry operating models, where owners and operators contribute to the costs of regulation.
● Owners adopt a systematic and well-documented approach to reservoir safety management.
● Supervising and inspecting engineers ensure all inspections are systematic, detailed, and impartial.
● High-risk reservoirs should be managed and operated on the basis of risk, to ensure their ongoing safety.
Welcoming the recommendations The government has welcomed the review’s
recommendations and says it will now work with the Environment Agency and industry to explore them further, while continuing to strive for the highest standards. This second part of the reservoir review was commissioned by the Secretary of State in June 2020 to examine the effectiveness of current legislation based on the safety and regulation of reservoirs. It follows the first part of Professor Balmforth’s review which was published in March 2020 and focused on the incident at Toddbrook Reservoir in August 2019 where parts of the spillway collapsed following significant heavy rainfall. “I have thoroughly reviewed the processes and practices that ensure the safety of our reservoirs in England, and I am grateful to the very many organisations and individuals, both here and overseas, that have assisted with this,” Professor David Balmforth said. “Whilst I have found many examples of good practice, there are, nevertheless, a number of areas where improvements should be made. I have therefore made a range of recommendations to strengthen our reservoir safety practices and to give additional powers to the Environment Agency. It is now up to the government to decide the best way to take forward these recommendations, including any future changes in regulations and primary legislation.” Richard Coackley, Chair of the Institution of Civil Engineers’ Reservoirs Committee, said that appropriately qualified engineers are central to the
safety management of reservoirs in the UK, and he is pleased the review recognises the need for an increased number of high-quality individuals to carry out reservoir safety supervision and inspection. “It is essential that standards are continuously maintained and improved, and that as a profession we strive to improve our knowledge, systems and processes,” he commented. “We agree with the recommendations to reinforce this across the industry…
..The Committee will continue to work with stakeholders to take these recommendations forward, and to ensure that reservoir and public safety is maintained into the future.” Alongside the review, Floods Minister Pow added that the government has taken action to further strengthen reservoir safety, including making it a statutory requirement for registered reservoirs to prepare on-site emergency flood plans. “I have issued a Direction to this effect to all undertakers of large, raised reservoirs in England. This will ensure that those responsible have plans in place and are prepared to mitigate and/or manage an emerging or actual emergency that could result in an uncontrolled release of water. Thankfully,” she said, “such incidents are very rare in this country, but the experience from Toddbrook clearly demonstrates how important this preparation is.” ●
Below: Toddbrook Reservoir pictured on 31 July 2019 - the day before the spillway failed
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