Due diligence should be exercised during all stages of a dam’ s life cycle. Owners may need to consider the necessity for rehabilitation works in order to ensure the dams remain safe and in operable condition.
CONCLUSIONS
Removal of the Marmot Dam, Sandy River, Oregon By NOAA( Public Domain, wikimedia. org)
Audits and Reviews Audits and reviews of a dam safety management system allow owners to maintain continuous improvement and provide assurance that dam safety risk is being appropriately managed.
Life Cycle Management
Dams typically have life expectancies that span over a 100 years. It is almost inconceivable that the environment within which a dam is situated, its use, operational requirements, technology and society’ s expectation of dam safety remain unchanged over the life of a dam. Dam owners must take note of such changes over time and their impact on dam safety.
There are many changes that can occur over a dam’ s lifespan that may require dam safety management including:
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Lifetime changes that may necessitate dam safety management such as changes to upstream catchment land use and downstream environment changes.
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Management of dam safety issues.
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Sediment accumulation in reservoirs and its effects on dam safety.
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Changes in use, where the function of a dam is required to be different from its original function.
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Decommissioning of a dam and decommissioning procedures.
1. The current dam safety management practice in the country is not in line with good international practice.
2. There are serious deficiencies in the dam safety management system of dam owners.
3. There is no specific Federal Law to deal with dam safety matters.
4. Dam owners / operators practice selfregulation, this is not effective in management of dams to a desirable standard. There is a general lack of public awareness on the hazard of dams.
5. There is a real need to establish a Government body to regulate development and operations of dams.
6. National dam safety management guidelines are needed to assist dam owners and all parties in understanding the legal obligations and liabilities of those associated with the development, ownership and operation of dams in Malaysia.
REFERENCE
ANCOLD( 2003). Guidelines on Dam Safety Management
CDA Dam Safety Guidelines 2007( Edition 2013) FEMA 93( 2004). Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety
Guidelines for Operations, Maintenance and Surveillance of Dams, Inter Departmental Committee on Dam Safety, 1989
ICOLD( 1974). Lessons from Dam Incidents New Zealand Dam Safety Guidelines- 2015
50 VOL 69 JANUARY-MARCH 2017