Tender out for reservoir risk rating project

The government has putout to tender a project to help develop new hazard classification for reservoirs and how it will operate. The project arose from expert recommendations for reservoir safety reform following a life-threatening incident in 2019 at Toddbrook reservoir in the Peak District.

Beginning in spring 2023 the project will, according to the govenment, look at good safety management practice in other countries and sectors. And it will “involve stakeholders in shaping the details of the classification and what that could mean in practice for reservoir owners and engineers.”

The project featured in a programme update from Defra last week on reservoir safety reform. Under one of three main areas of reform Defra reported activity under “creating a more modern approach to hazard management” as called for under for in the post-Toddbrook analysis by Professor David Balmforth.

The other areas were: improving the supply and capacity of reservoir safety engineers; and updating the approach to regulation and enforcement.

Key drivers for reform according to Defra were: a growing demand for safety engineers; more extreme periods of drier and wetter weather are increasing the pressures on reservoir infrastructure and demand for water resources; and many reservoir safety requirements are nearly 50 years old and have no been updated.

Actions on recommendations for improving the supply of safety engineers, according to Defra will be “included part of the wider reservoir safety reform programme.” Updating regulation and enforcement is under a regulatory review which is scheduled for publication in summer this year after which “further written consultation will then follow about any proposed legislative changes.”