A new publication designed to become a tool for the management of reservoir safety by experienced dam professionals was launched at the British Dam Society 13th Biennial conference, held in Canterbury, UK, from 22-26 June 2004.
The ‘Interim Guide to Quantitative Risk Assessment for UK Reservoirs’ provides for
• Estimating the annual probability of failure of a dam.
• Assessing the consequences if the dam failed, both in terms of the likely loss of life and direct third party damage.
• Evaluating the risk posed by the dam, in terms of both £/annum and the risk of loss of life/annum.
• Determining whether the risk posed by the dam is tolerable, in that the cost of reducing the risk would be disproportionate to the reduction in risk achieved.
The publication also provides an opportunity for the user to decide whether there are any other threats that may constitute a significant probability of failure and should therefore be quantified. Later sections provide for the estimation of the consequences of failure.
The guide is in the form of a microsoft excel workbook with proforma calculations, and accompanying text. It is intended to form part of either a periodic safety review or a portfolio risk assessment.
Where application of this guide identifies potential concerns a more detailed assessment is likely to be appropriate.
The guide is priced at £40 and is available from Thomas Telford. For further information please click on the link below.
External weblinksThomas Telford