The June 2010 debris slide south of Oliver prompted the BC government to strengthen its annual dam safety reports.
Photo contributed
Improved monitoring, increased audits and dam owner training highlighted the BC government’s ongoing focus on dam safety over the past year, according to the third annual BC Dam Safety Report.
The 2012-13 report includes data on incidents and failures, dam construction, inspections, compliance, and corrective actions. These annual reports were strengthened after the Testalinda dam broke on Mt. Kobau on June 13, 2010. This caused a major mudslide north of Oliver, where several homes and orchards were destroyed.
From April 1, 2012 to March 31, 2013, the Ministry of Forests sent compliance surveys to 339 high, very high and extreme consequence dams, resulting in a 98 per cent return rate. Of the surveys returned, 98 per cent reported the completion of formal inspections.
Non-compliant owners of 130 high, very high and extreme consequence dams have hired professional engineers to undertake dam safety reviews for their dams.
During the reporting, the dam safety branch conducted 147 audits, 15 per cent more than the target of 128. There were five minor dam failures, three dam alerts and six minor incidents, all of which have been resolved to the ministry’s satisfaction.
There are 1,636 regulated dams in BC ranging in size from massive structures such as Mica Dam to small earth-filled dams used for domestic water storage. All dam owners in BC are responsible for the inspection and safety of their dams.
At the time of the 2010 debris slide in Oliver, rancher Ace Elkink owned the water rights to Testalinda dam.
Following the slide, the government was mandated to meet the recommendations made in the deputy solicitor general’s review of the dam failure on Mt. Kobau.
This year’s achievements include:
Inspections were completed on 15 dams that were identified in the 2010 rapid dam assessment project as requiring follow-up.
Sixty-seven dam owners in five communities received formal training in safe management of dams.
Completion of 31 project reviews for new, rehabilitated or removed dams and 12 reviews associated with dam construction.
During the 2012-13 reporting year, dam safety officers cooperated with natural resource officers to develop a compliance and enforcement strategy to streamline the province’s dam safety program.
This collaboration resulted in heightened awareness and a marked increase in the number of dam safety reviews initiated by the owners themselves.
A copy of the report and previous years’ reports is available online at: www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/public_safety/dam_safety/index.html
