| Dam safety
and impacts in order to highlight best practices and lessons learned. The other findings and recommendations into the Michigan failures include: ● Relationships and collaborative planning before an incident greatly impact effective communication, coordination, and response during an emergency incident. Strong working relationships established during non-emergency times help build confidence and trust between the individuals, agencies and organisations involved in emergency response efforts. Strong relationships also promote efficient and effective communication and coordination during a rapidly developing incident.
● Exercises build preparedness by providing a low- risk environment to validate plans, procedures, and capabilities. Exercises in areas with dams is particularly critical to clarify responsibilities between dam owners and the downstream communities in the event of a dam failure. Exercises can also help identify resource requirements and areas for improvement for evacuation, alert and warning notifications to vulnerable populations and other operational priorities.
● Data analysis is critical for planning and for impactful post-event analysis. Consistent, quality data are key to any analytical analyses. The better the data, the better the results and outcomes. Data is needed before an event to enhance community analysis, inundation modelling, and capability assessments. After an incident it is important for agencies involved in data collection activities to work together to collect data in an appropriate and efficient manner to reduce duplicative efforts, and preserve the “freshness” of perishable information.
● Open communications with the community are essential to explain risk and to create more effective alerts and warnings for evacuations and shelter-in- place guidance. Educating community stakeholders businesses, community organisations serving underserved populations, and the public about potential risk will help to increase compliance with instructions to evacuate or to shelter-in-place. “While it is important to invest in maintenance, compliance, and mitigation for dams across the country,” the Michigan DIRR states, “the events of May 2020 also demonstrate the importance of investing in collaborative planning, exercises, data analysis, communicating with the public, and using watershed areas to plan across jurisdictional boundaries. Supporting local officials, emergency managers, dam owners/operators, and community members through technical assistance to build resilience for dam emergencies is an equally valuable investment to save lives.”
Safety awareness day
Held on 31 May every year in the US, Dam Safety Awareness Day is in memoriam of the 2200 people who lost their lives in the 1889 South Fork Dam failure near Johnstown, Pennsylvania. However, as FEMA warns, the South Fork Dam tragedy is not an isolated incident. “As we observe and reflect on the South Fork Dam tragedy 133 years later, we encourage you to understand the continued importance of dam safety, the roles various parties play, current issues, and why investment in this infrastructure is urgently needed,”
FEMA said. “Recent crises following heavy seasonal rains, like the failure of the Oroville Dam spillway in California (2017) or the failure of the Edenville and Sanford dams in Michigan (2020), have made major headlines, highlighting the poor condition of many of the nation’s dams. Proper maintenance, routine inspection, necessary upgrades, and implementation of an Emergency Action Plan can ensure optimal conditions, protecting public health, safety, and welfare. “National Dam Safety Awareness Day not only commemorates the past. It calls us to action,” FEMA continued. “Dam Safety is a shared responsibility. Know your risk, know your role, know the benefits of dams and take action.” The Baltimore District of the US Army Corps of Engineers has heeded this advice and is stressing the importance of recognising not only the benefits but also the risks of living near dams. Baltimore District has an extensive flood risk management programme and is responsible for inspecting over 240km of levee systems and operating 16 dams, translating to the prevention of more than US$16 billion of flood damages to date. Tucked between Garrett County, Maryland, and Mineral County, West Virginia, the Jennings Randolph Lake (JRL) project (originally called Bloomington Lake) consists of a 90m high rolled earth and rockfill dam that extends almost 650m across the valley. Project functions include flood risk management, water quality, low-flow augmentation, water supply, and recreation. Since becoming operational in 1981, JRL has prevented an estimated US$400 million in potential flood damage to communities downstream. Although it reduces the risk of flooding, it does not eliminate it. Many people who live downstream of JRL are completely unaware of the potential hazard. In order to provide the dam safety community, as well as the public, a better understanding of USACE’s efforts to reduce dam risk and promote dam safety through awareness, JRL has launched a Dam Risk Communication webpage that provides risk education as well as relevant resources for those who live near the project. The website includes general information on JRL dam’s mission, functionality and inspections, relevant links and resources, Q&As, regional Emergency Management Agency contact information and tips for how to best prepare in case of downstream flooding. “Public safety is the Army Corps’ top priority,” said Ken Fernandez, Jennings Randolph Lake Operations Project Manager. “JRL is authorised for multiple purposes, including recreation that we all have come to know and love. However, we must keep in mind that its primary purpose is flood risk management and with that f
Above: Dneproges hydroelectric power station on the Dnepr River in Ukraine. Pictured in spring 2021. Credit: ZagAlex /
Shutterstock.com
Above: The village of Demidov was flooded due to an explosion at the Kyviv dam during the war in Ukraine. Pictured on 29 April 2022. ICOLD says it is concerned for the safety of dams and levees across the Ukraine. Credit: Alexander Ishchenko /
Shutterstock.com
Below: Mellègue dam in Tunisia. World Bank assistance is helping to improve the country’s Hydromet and early warning systems.
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