Welcome to the latest issue of Dams Safety Focus, our eNewsletter providing up-to-date information to help declared dam owners, and their consultants and contractors, manage their dams' safety.
Firstly, thank you to the owners and operators of declared dams in and around the Upper Hunter region for their prompt monitoring of dams in response to the earthquakes experienced in the region since late August. Thankfully there were no dam failures reported, and we appreciated the timely precautionary incident reports related to these events.
Dams Safety NSW has issued penalty notices for the first time. Issuing these penalties demonstrates our move to stronger compliance and underscores that compliance with dam safety legislation is not optional for declared dam owners. We will continue our outreach and education efforts to help owners understand and fulfill their legal obligations.
Lastly, I would like to thank the many people who participated in our webinar and made written submissions during the consultation of our draft guidance note ‘The Requirement to Reduce Dam Safety Risks So Far As Is Reasonably Practicable (SFAIRP)’. Your feedback is valuable as we finalise this document to help dam owners understand this fundamental requirement when assessing the safety of your dams.
Chris Salkovic CEO, Dams Safety NSW
Have you completed an emergency exercise for your declared dam?
Emergency exercises must be carried out for all declared dams in NSW. They form an important part of risk mitigation and emergency preparedness should a dam failure occur.
By 1 November 2024, under the Dams Safety Regulation 2019, all declared dams in NSW must have completed a theoretical classroom emergency exercise or a practical emergency exercise in the last three years.
Dams Safety NSW will audit a cross-section of dam owners in early 2025 to assess compliance with this requirement.
The emergency plan for a declared dam must contain details of planned emergency exercises. This includes how they are scheduled, carried out, how recommendations for improvement are recorded and actioned, and how records are kept.
Dams Safety NSW may apply penalties when:
Records of emergency exercises for the dam are not kept
Details of emergency exercises are not included in the emergency management plan
Emergency exercises are not undertaken every 3 or 5 years (whichever applies)
Financial penalties for not complying with emergency exercise requirements range from:
Fines of $500 for individuals, to $3000 for corporations
Court penalties up to $247 000 for individuals and up to $1.1million for corporations, with additional daily penalties applicable for continuing offences
You can find out more about emergency exercises and emergency planning for your declared dam on our website.
Dam emergency plans and the NSW SES
Under the Dams Safety Regulation 2019 declared dam owners must provide a copy of their dam's emergency plan to:
Dams Safety NSW and
the NSW State Emergency Service (NSW SES).
The emergency plan must be provided in electronic form, for example as a PDF, as soon as reasonably practicable after the plan is prepared or updated. Updating contact details in your emergency plan at least annually is particularly important.
Flowcharts in your emergency plan (for Amber or Red Alerts) should refer to the Dams Safety NSW Duty Officer, and include the phone number 0403 681 645.
Remove references to the former "Dams Safety Committee (DSC)", "the Executive Engineer", "CEO" or "Chris Salkovic".
Dams Safety NSW and the NSW SES strongly recommend that dam owners consult the NSW SES at an early stage during the preparation of draft emergency plans to:
jointly determine dam failure alert levels to allow maximum warning time for an emergency response
jointly determine appropriate warning protocols for downstream populations at risk
identify and prioritise the relevant people that have a role in the implementing the emergency plan and
confirm notification arrangements.
New summary information sheet must be included at the front of your dam's emergency plan
In an emergency, the NSW SES needs to find information about a dam quickly, including key contact details. Searching through an emergency plan wastes precious time.
The NSW SES has developed a summary information sheet to provide the information in a consistent format, at the front of your dam emergency plan.
Declared dam owners must use thissummary information sheet templateand place it at the front of their dam's emergency plan when the plan is next due for its annual review.
Where do you send your updated dam emergency plan?
NEW Operations and maintenance plan resources for dam owners
Declared dam owners in NSW must have - and follow - an operations and maintenance plan (O&M plan) for each of their declared dams. The plan must meet all the requirements of the Dams Safety Regulation 2019 and be documented, so that it can be easily understood and followed by everyone involved in operation and maintenance.
Discover our NEW educational O&M plan resources
Below you'll find links to Frequently Asked Questions and Answers about operations and maintenance plans and a series of short podcasts where our Dams Safety NSW experts chat in simple terms about how to make sure your O&M plan is compliant.
Declared dam owners must report all serious dam-related incidents to Dams Safety NSW as soon as possible after the incident.
This article is the first in a series of case studies about past dam safety incidents reported to Dams Safety NSW, and from around the world. The series is designed to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
Incident: potential overtopping incident of an embankment water supply dam during a flood event.
Months of wet weather resulted in local conditions of high (75th percentile) soil moisture and groundwater levels. Totals measured within 10km of the dam were approximately 600mm over 24 hours and 900m over 72 hours. A rapid rise in dam levels was accompanied by an unprecedented rapid spike in turbidity. Flows over the rock spillway peaked at 2.3m and the dam level peaked within 900mm of the crest.
During the event, intermittent loss of electricity, internet and phones caused a communications breakdown. ICT systems fell back on the disaster recovery site that struggled to maintain corporate functions.
Dam staff were unable to access the dam wall and spillway due to dangerous site conditions, heavy flooding on roadways and sediments running onto the dam wall. Several staff were trapped for 24 hours at the treatment plant.
After initial contact and issuing a red alert and evacuation order, numerous mobile phone towers went down, and communications were lost to many sites. Emergency services were receiving many other requests for assistance at the same time.
Some insights
Extreme events can impact on an organisation’s ability to respond to potential dam failure. For example, could key roads become flooded in an extreme rainfall event? Will staff and other responders be able to access, or leave, the dam site if there is flooding? Have you tested your emergency plans and assumptions in an emergency exercise, taking into account any extreme conditions that may happen during an emergency event.
Communication is vital. How will you communicate if mobile networks are down or overwhelmed? If you have back up radio or satellite phones, who will be able to answer them? How will you engage with the community and other interested parties during an incident?
First penalty notices issued to dam owners
DSNSW has issued penalty notices for the first time under the Dams Safety Act 2015. The penalty notices were issued to 3 declared dam owners who failed to comply with a statutory notice issued under section 15 of the Act requiring them to submit their Annual Dams Safety Standards Reports.
Issuing these penalties demonstrates DSNSW takes non-compliance seriously. A strong, independent regulator is crucial to enforcing the rules and applying penalties fairly.
Dam owners may request an internal review of a penalty notice or elect to have the alleged offence heard in court. Internal reviews will be undertaken by the Governance & Assurance Manager within DSNSW, and in accordance with the NSW Attorney General Guidelines for internal reviews under the Fines Act 1996.
ENROL NOW: online embankment and concrete dam surveillance courses
Dams Safety NSW has collaborated with TAFE NSW to deliver 2 three-hour online courses. They are both available on TAFE NSW's online learning platform.
It is recommended that participants have at least 6 months’ experience inspecting dams before attempting the courses.
PLEASE NOTE: successfully completing these courses does not mean you are a 'competent person'. You can choose to be assessed for competency against the National Water Training Package unit of competency 'NWPCAD011 - inspect and report on embankment dam safety' or NWPCAD010 – Inspect and report on concrete dam safety, for an additional fee.
Contact Dams Safety NSW for more information about eligibility requirements for competency assessments by emailing us at info@damsafety.nsw.gov.au.
Do you have a new contact person for your dam? Notify DSNSW - it's the law
If you have a new contact person for your declared dam, or their details have changed, you are legally required to notify Dams Safety NSW within 14 days.
Maintaining up-to-date details for a contact person for DSNSW ensures that the Dams Safety Act and regulation can be administered efficiently and safely.
Dam owners need to notify Dams Safety NSW of changes to contact details within 14 days by completing this online form, emailing us at info@damsafety.nsw.gov.au, orcalling (02) 9842 8073.
Serious incidents or injuries that occur at, or in relation to, a declared dam must be reported to Dams Safety NSW as soon as possible after the incident by calling 0403 681 645 (24 hours/7 days a week).
A written report of an incident in a form approved by Dams Safety NSW must be given to Dams Safety NSW no later than 72 hours after the incident, even if an oral report of the incident has already been given. Click here to complete the online incident report form.
Examples of the types of incidents you should report to DSNSW include:
Risk of or actual failure of the dam
Death or serious injury of persons related to the dam and its operations
A security incident that has or may affect the safety of the dam
An incident related to dam safety that is reasonably likely to cause concern to members of the public
If you are not sure if an incident meets the reporting requirements in clause 19 of the Dams Safety Regulation, it is recommended that declared dam owners report the incident.
Even if you have already made an oral report, email any additional information to incident@damsafety.nsw.gov.au
Reporting incidents to DSNSW is required by law. The information helps us monitor action taken by dam owners to resolve issues at dams. It also helps us track issues related to dam safety to inform our policies and programs.
Contact us
Dams Safety Focus is our newsletter on dam safety in NSW. If you have any questions or feedback contact us at:
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