Discussion papers: exploring reservoir safety and evolving engineering roles

Overview

This series of discussion papers focuses on key issues in reservoir safety, the role of engineers and evolving legislation. Together these papers aim to advance discussions on reservoir safety and modernise engineering practices.

Quality and the safety of reservoirs

Arising from the Independent Reservoir Safety Review Report written by Professor David Balmforth and published in March 2021, work is being done to identify approaches to assess the quality and consistency of inspection reports and annual statements.

This paper will take a step back to consider what “quality” could mean in the context of reservoir safety legislation, the factors that influence the delivery of “quality” in safety interventions and what actions could be taken to promote “quality”.

This will be done by considering the various definitions of quality in the literature. The purpose of reservoir safety legislation will be reviewed and possible definitions of quality appropriate for reservoir safety activities discussed. The paper will move on to consider the factors that influence the quality of reservoir safety and finally suggested actions or interventions to deliver improvements will be proposed.

The role of the construction engineer and panel of specialists in the modern contracting world

The Reservoirs Act requires that for any new reservoir or alteration to enlarge an existing reservoir, a construction engineer is employed to design and supervise the construction or alteration. Procurement procedures have moved on from when the Reservoirs Act was written. Is there a need to rethink the role of the construction engineer for the modern contracting arena?

The Coxon report (Coxon, 1986), produced after the failure of Carsington dam in 1984, recommends that a panel of specialists reviews and comments on the design and construction of any major new dam. Expert panels are common on international projects and in some water companies, but there is less recent experience of panels for new dams in the UK. We propose possible organisational arrangements for panels of specialists appointed for the new reservoirs that are proposed in England over the next 20 years.

The changing role of the supervising engineer

The Reservoirs Act 1975 introduced the role of the supervising engineer to reservoir safety legislation. Documentation from the time of the bringing the 1975 Act into force in 1985/86 indicates that the role was envisaged as a technical support to the Undertaker to fulfil his duties under the Act.

Amendments to the 1975 Act in 2003 and 2010 have given supervising engineer’s additional powers and placed additional duties upon them, some of which came into effect in England following the Ministerial Direction of Emergency Plans. The Independent Reservoir Safety Review Report written by professor David Balmforth published in March 2021 and a Defra consultation in August 2023 both suggested significant additional duties and obligations.

The cumulative effect of these actual and proposed changes is to alter the nature of the role of the supervising engineer with implications covering a range of areas from qualification and experience requirements for appointment to the commercial attractiveness of the work.