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Type
Lecture

Natural Resources Wales: our 10 year reservoir journey

Event organised by The British Dam Society

Date
14 October 2024
Time

This event has now ended

Overview

On 1st April 2013, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) was formed from an amalgamation of three separate bodies in Wales namely, Environment Agency Wales (EAW), Forestry Commission Wales (FCW) and Countryside Council for Wales (CCW). The role of the Enforcement Authority for reservoirs (under the Reservoirs Act 1975) transferred as part of a previous two-year transition programme.

Once formed, NRW also acted as Undertaker for 11 registered reservoirs, predominantly flood risk management assets. During the early years NRW identified a number of potential reservoirs in their ownership or management. The in-house Supervising Engineers carried out initial investigations to determine whether they were likely to possess a raised volume capacity in excess of the new 10,000 cubic metres threshold and the likely risk classification for these structures.

Initial studies showed that NRW had 47 sites that required assessment. This soon rose to 74 as the project started. 19 sites were identified as being over the 25,000m³ threshold and duly registered with a further 12 sites registered once confirmed to be over the 10,000m³ threshold. NRW’s current reservoir stock has a variety of purposes including flood alleviation, water supply, nature reserves, historical structures and amenity.

This presentation tells the story of the challenges of forming a new organisation running in parallel with legislative changes to the Reservoir Act. From the initial investigation of numerous potential reservoirs and registration to investigative work, outcome workshops and final scheme delivery. NRW has delivered multiple construction schemes over the past 10 year to uphold reservoir safety standards which have included several discontinuance projects. Speakers will provide examples of works undertaken and the challenges ahead for NRW with regards to managing its reservoir portfolio.

Organised by

British Dam Society

British Dam Society

The BDS covers the technical aspects of dams and reservoirs, including planning, design, construction, maintenance, safety, and environmental impact.

Speakers

Andrew Basford

Andrew Basford

Natural Resources Wales/Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru

civil engineering project manager

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Andrew Basford

Andrew is a civil engineering project manager working for Natural Resources Wales.

Andrew is an incorporated engineer with over 12 years’ experience in the water engineering industry. Responsible for the delivery of the Llyn Tegid project, Andrew leads the ongoing engagement with stakeholders and is focused on certification of the works by qualified civil engineer, Dr Andy Hughes appointed under the Reservoirs Act. Andrew has worked on reservoir engineering projects since 2017. 

Jack Lewis-Roberts

Jack Lewis-Roberts

Natural Resources Wales

project manager

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Jack Lewis-Roberts

Jack has worked for NRW for the past 7 years in their Flood Risk Management, Reservoir Compliance and Projects Delivery teams. He currently works as a Project Manager specialising in delivery of reservoir compliance schemes. Since joining the team in 2020 he has delivered six Reservoir Safety schemes across a variety of dams, from Flood Storage Areas and SSSIs to amenity lakes and mining infrastructure.

Joanna Parkinson

Joanna Parkinson

Natural Resources Wales

reservoir compliance engineer

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Joanna Parkinson

Joanna has worked for Natural Resources Wales for the last 6 years, prior to this she worked in the Environment Agency for 5 years and within that period worked as a Reservoir Act Co-Ordinator for East Anglia. On joining NRW she worked as a Reservoir Project Manager, and since 2022 she has worked as the Reservoir Compliance Engineer. Jo also has experience in reservoir emergency planning, flood modelling and training procedures. She is a member of the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) and is currently working towards chartership through CIWEM.

Gerallt Richards

Gerallt Richards

Natural Resources Wales

lead specialist advisor

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Gerallt Richards

Gerallt has worked for Natural Resources Wales and the Environment Agency for over 20 years and is the Lead Specialist Advisor within NRW’s Reservoir Regulation Team. He has worked on the identification of potential reservoirs, the flood mapping and risk designation of reservoirs and developing guidance for reservoir owners and engineers. He is a chartered member of CIWEM and a member of the British Dam Society committee.

For more information please contact:

Shelly-Ann Russell

Sustainable Development Goals: