Welsh Government joins UK Reservoir Safety Reform Programme

The Welsh Government has announced it is joining the UK Government’s Reservoir Safety Reform Programme.

The move follows an independent review of reservoir safety in England published in 2021, which was commissioned following the partial collapse of a dam at Toddbrook reservoir in Derbyshire in 2019 after heavy rain.

At the time of the incident, which saw over 1500 people evacuated from the town of Whaley Bridge for several days, Toddbrook reservoir was fully compliant with existing legislation and had recently been inspected.

This prompted serious questions over whether the current reservoir safety regime in England and Wales is fit for purpose.

Weaknesses

Although the Balmforth review was an England only review, the subsequent report identified weaknesses in the existing reservoir safety regime relevant for both England and Wales.

Changes have already been made in Wales which align with recommendations made by Professor Balmforth in his report and the Welsh Government says that joining the Reservoir Safety Reform Programme, working together with Defra and the UK Government’s Environment Agency, “will ensure there is consistency across roles and responsibilities for reservoir safety engineers who work across both nations.”

The two governments are also collaborating on the development of a new hazard classification system.

A pivotal moment

Huw Irranca-Davies, Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Climate Change and Rural Affairs said in a written statement: “Both Welsh Government and UK Government recognise the value of a shared safety regime, and I am delighted this collaborative cross-border working will continue.

“Today, I am pleased to confirm that Wales will join England in a joint reservoir safety reform programme to modernise legislation.

“Whilst this is a pivotal moment for reservoir safety, the central principles which guide our approach in Wales will remain – for example, use of qualified civil engineers to undertake inspections and supervisions.

“However, these principles will be applied more on the basis of risk and proportionality. Our vision is to modernise the regulation of reservoir safety in Wales, to reduce the risk to those who live and work in the communities downstream and the natural environment, and to ensure reservoirs are resilient to future impacts of climate change.

“I am aware we have a comparatively small population of reservoir owners in Wales. However, as the Toddbrook incident demonstrated, reservoir owners play a significant role in ensuring the safety of communities downstream and it is vital that everyone is aware of their respective responsibilities.”