Dam Failures: Impact on Reservoir Safety Legislation in Great Britain

Abstract

Introduction “Every dam, regardless of its size, is in some degree a potential menace to everything below it. There is nothing so relentless in its immediate destructiveness, so uncontrollable and deadly as a huge volume of water suddenly released.” This warning, which was given at a symposium in New York on the public supervision of dams (Hinderlider, 1932), forms a necessary reminder that although reservoirs have provided immense benefits to mankind, as with all human progress, there is a price to be paid. Part of that price is the potential hazard of a dam breach when the uncontrolled release of the impounded water can cause enormous property damage, injury, and death. In 1930, the year that the New York symposium was held, comprehensive reservoir safety legislation was introduced into Great Britain in the form of the Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act. British reservoir safety legislation applies to “raised reservoirs,” that is to say it applies where artificially created bodies of water are impounded above the level of the surrounding ground. The legislation does not apply to naturally formed bodies of water such as lakes and lochs, nor does it apply where fluids other than water are impounded. The scope of the legislation is restricted to “raised” reservoirs since reservoirs formed by digging a basin in the ground rather than by building a dam are not normally a threat to public safety. Before considering dam failures and their impact on the development of