Most dams lack emergency action plan

For many Virginians living downstream from a dam, there is a good chance that they don’t know what to do or where to go if the dam fails. That’s because more than 40 percent of the state’s dams that are supposed to have evacuation plans do not.

May 19, 2015; 9:00 AM • by Capital News Service

By Cort Olsen and Morgan White | Capital News Servie

For many Virginians living downstream from a dam, there is a good chance that they don’t know what to do or where to go if the dam fails. That’s because more than 40 percent of the state’s dams that are supposed to have evacuation plans do not.

Hundreds of dams in Virginia and thousands across the United States lack emergency action plans required by law. Those plans are intended to warn people to evacuate if the dam were to fail. In Virginia, about 800 dams are supposed to have an EAP. But 43 percent of them don’t, according to a Capital News Service analysis of data from the National Inventory of Dams.

The lack of an EAP could be a problem if the dam should fail, said Mark Ogden, project manager for the Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Such worst-case scenarios are rare, but they have happened. “An exercised, well-prepared emergency action plan is a valuable tool to help save lives,” Ogden said.

Even when dams have an EAP, most downstream residents probably don’t know where to find it, he added. “There have been a lot of efforts in recent years to try to make the public aware of dams and the potential dangers, and to know if they live in an area downstream of a dam, the failure inundation zone, who to talk to – whether it’s the dam owner or more likely the local emergency management officials – to find out if there is an EAP for that dam and what they would need to do,” Ogden said.

He said it was difficult to generalize about how likely it would be for a dam to fail. “Most dams that are properly designed and have been well maintained – the likelihood of failure is very small. It’s very remote,” Ogden said. “If it’s the opposite – if it was built many years ago, maybe before there were a lot of standards for dam safety for the construction of dams, and it hasn’t been maintained over the years – if you had a significant event, like a flood or an earthquake or something, then the likelihood of failure for that dam increases dramatically.”

According to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, 173 dams across the United States have experienced failures since 2005.

Dam statistics: Many lack EAPs

According to a federal database called the National Inventory of Dams, Virginia has 2,063 dams. Of the total, 337 are considered “high hazard,” meaning there is a strong probability of loss of life if such a dam fails. By law, these dams, which are near residential areas, must have an emergency action plan.

However, 77 – or 23 percent – of Virginia’s high-hazard dams do not have an EAP, according to the database. The state also has 469 significant-hazard dams (meaning a failure probably wouldn’t kill anyone but would cause economic loss or environmental damage). Almost all of Virginia’s significant-hazard dams also are required by law to have an EAP. But 270, or 58 percent, don’t.

Nationwide, about 22 percent of high-hazard dams and 40 percent of significant-hazard dams don’t have EAPs. According to the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, “one of the major reasons for the lack of an EAP at high and significant hazard dams is the cost of detailed dam break studies. In addition, it has become increasingly clear that many dam owners do not understand their personal liability for the downstream loss of life and property damage in the event their dam fails.”

Regulation of dams in Virginia

The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation oversees dams in the commonwealth. Robert Bennett, the division director for dam safety and floodplain management, said the biggest obstacle the agency faces is the high cost of maintaining dams, particularly ones over 50 years old. (Nearly 900 of Virginia’s dams are that old.)

“Although we have improved by providing dam owners additional customer service, the high cost of dam rehabilitation to meet minimum public safety standards remains a challenge,” Bennett said.

Bennett said the government helps dam owners cover the costs. “Our latest grant manual provides 50 percent matching grants for assisting dam owners with the engineering studies required to keep dams safe.” As of 2011, the total estimated cost to rehabilitate high- and significant-hazard dams was $592 million.

Bennett’s division has launched several initiatives to promote dam safety. They include a Dam First Aid Initiative, which provides training to dam owners and emergency responders; Dam Watch, an early warning system; and Dam Dragnet, which identifies unregulated dams and works with the owners on safety issues.

Report card on Virginia’s dams: C

Besides having an emergency action plan, high- and significant-hazard dams should let nearby residents know about it. Officials would like dams to put their EAPs online. For example, Fawn Lake Dam in Spotsylvania County has posted its 38-page plan (PDF) on the Web. The document explains what would be inundated if the dam were ever breached, and how people would be notified and evacuated, including on weekends and holidays.

The Virginia section of the American Society of Civil Engineers is concerned that many dams in the commonwealth lack an EAP. The society says the Department of Conservation and Recreation should make this a priority.

In addition, the society wants the Division of Dam Safety to have one staff member for every 50 dams, to stringently enforce dam safety regulations and to conduct a statewide needs assessment of dams. The civil engineers highlighted those concerns recently when they issued a report on Virginia’s infrastructure. The society gave the state’s dams a grade of C.

May 19, 2015 9:00 AM 0