Reservoir slogs
Environment Agency , Issue 1555 A WHOPPING 65 reservoirs in England are overdue for safety measures to be completed – an increase since the partial spillway collapse incident at Toddbrook reservoir, which sparked the evacuation of Whaley Bridge in 2019.

The Environment Agency (EA) released its biennial data on reservoir safety last month, showing that between January 2019 and December 2020, inspecting engineers logged 167 “measures to be taken in the interest of safety” (MIOS).

Depending on the urgency of the works, the inspectors set target dates by which works must be completed. The risk at Toddbrook had been recognised, but the structure began to fail in August 2019 before the 18-month target time for action to be taken was up (Eye 1520).

Between the cracks
In the previous report, the number of outstanding MIOS that had not been completed on time was 49. By the end of 2019 it was 55, and by December 2020 it was 65. Only 23 of those had faced enforcement action for their tardiness by the date of the report, with the EA saying some had been allowed “adjustments to compliance” under temporary measures because of difficulties getting work done during Covid restrictions. Others were still under investigation.

There are more than 2,000 large raised reservoirs in England, holding water above ground level, with many designated as high-risk because an “uncontrolled release” such as a dam failure could kill people – as happened in the Dolgarrog dam disaster in Wales in 1925. Owners include water companies, local authorities and private landowners.

Owners fingered
South East Water features in the report’s list of recalcitrant reservoir owners for failing to carry out MIOS at Ardingly and Folkington reservoirs in a timely fashion. While those had both been fixed by December 2020, the company’s Barcombe reservoir in East Sussex, which also featured in the 2018 report, was still found to be non-compliant and the EA was investigating. Meanwhile, Severn Trent was given “advice” after being late to have its reservoir in Nuneaton even inspected.

Notices were served on Blue Lagoon Heritage Ltd, owner of Ward’s Reservoir, a disused former works reservoir near Blackburn, which was drained in 2011 because the previous owner didn’t want to spend the £40,000 needed to make it safe. It has since completely refilled and a person had to be saved from drowning there this summer.

Elusive quarry
One of the most intractable sites is Marlbrook Quarry, a former mineral and gravel works, later used as landfill and now so full of water it counts as a reservoir. Both the EA and Bromsgrove council have taken enforcement action in recent years, but it remains “non-compliant, under investigation”.

Part B of Professor David Balmforth’s independent reservoir safety review, commissioned after the Toddbrook incident, recommended stronger legislation, with penalties and prosecution for those who don’t comply in a timely fashion. “Some reservoir owners appear not to allocate sufficient resources to the safety management of their reservoirs,” he said. “Some may be unable or unwilling to do so. Maintenance often does not get completed and in some cases not done at all.”

The government said it would “explore” the review recommendations.