Developments in British reservoir safety legislation 1930–2021

Although there has been no loss of life through British dam failures since the 1930 Reservoirs (Safety Provisions) Act was enacted, there have been some major developments in reservoir safety regulation and legislation since that time. The introduction of the role of the supervising engineer in the 1975 Reservoirs Act greatly improved the supervision and surveillance of reservoirs. Although volumetric reservoir capacity has been retained in the definition of large raised reservoirs, a consequence-based distinction between high-risk and low-risk reservoirs has been introduced. The Environment Agency has been given wide powers for the regulation and enforcement of legislation. However, the fundamental importance of the panels of qualified civil engineers in the design, construction, inspection and supervision of large reservoirs has remained, as has the crucial role of the Reservoirs Committee of the Institution of Civil Engineers in appointments to the panels; one of the authors, Andrew Charles, was a member of the Committee from 1996 to 2015. Developments in legislation have often been triggered by dam failures and serious incidents, and the other author, Paul Tedd, has made an extensive study of these events.