For raised reservoirs holding large volumes of water, maintaining the dams holding this water in place is vital to public safety.
We now enforce the Reservoirs Act 1975, making us responsible as Enforcement Authority of some 2,000 reservoirs in England and Wales.
As Enforcement Authority we have the following key roles:
- provisionally, from winter 2009 we will ensure flood plans are produced for specified reservoirs
Our position
The safe operation and management of reservoirs to reduce flood risk is extremely important. A dam failure could have major consequences, including loss of life.
Although the responsibility for safety remains with the owners, enforcing this responsibility is an important role for us.
Reservoir owners will see a much more consistent approach to this regulatory role than they have before.
Our goal
Our goal is to apply the principles of modern regulation to reservoirs by using an approach based on potential risk, and focused on achieving safety and environmental benefits.
We took over these responsibilities on 1 October 2004. They only apply to raised reservoirs holding over 25,000 cubic metres of water above natural ground level. The work is funded by:
- Grant in Aid from Defra (Flood & Coastal Erosion Risk Management), and
- The Welsh Assembly Government.
Contacts
For more information contact:
- General Enquiries on Reservoir Safety: 08708 506 506
- Environment Agency Emergency Hotline: 0800 80 70 60
Further information
