COMPLETED FORM MUST BE SUBMITTED BY MARCH 1, 2021

By Mail:	Dam Safety Section, Water Management Branch

Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development

Please mail to the address located on the bottom of this page.

Or By Fax:	250-356-0605

Or By email:	dam.safety@gov.bc.ca

Please fill in Dam Name, Failure Consequence Class, and contact information: name, address, phone # & e-mail below: Dam Name: Failure Consequence Class: Your Name: Your Address: Phone number: E-mail address:

Please read the information overleaf (page 2) before completing this form. For more information, see the Compliance and Enforcement section of our website: www.gov.bc.ca/damsafety.

1.	Has your Formal Inspection for 2021 been completed? Yes No

If yes was the Formal Inspection done by; Owner , or Other

Name of Individual or Firm who did the Formal Inspection?

Comments:

2.	Did you undertake regular Site Surveillance? Yes No

Comments:

3.	Have any new Dam Safety Concerns been identified in (2021)? Yes No

If yes please elaborate:

Has a plan been prepared to address the safety concern(s)? Yes No N/A

Have the dam safety concerns been addressed? Yes No N/A

Comments:

4.	Dam Safety Review:

Has a Dam Safety Review, as per the Dam Safety Regulation Schedule 2 requirement, been conducted by a Qualified Professional Engineer? Yes No

If Yes, in what year was your last Dam Safety Review carried out?

5.	Operations, Maintenance and Surveillance Manual (OMS):

Is your OMS Manual current? Yes No

In what year was your last Operation, Maintenance & Surveillance Manual (OMS) updated, or if the original Manual is still being used, what year was it created?

6.	Dam Emergency Plan (DEP):

Is the dam being operated under an up-to-date Dam Emergency Plan (DEP) that was accepted by a dam safety officer? Yes No

What year was the DEP last updated, or if the original DEP is still being used, what year was it created?

Is the Emergency Contact Information in your DEP up-to-date? Yes No

Have you submitted the required DEP information to the local emergency authority? Yes No

7.	Has there been any land use development downstream of your dam in the last year that might affect the Dam Failure Consequence Classification? Yes No

If yes please elaborate:

Additional comments or suggestions:

Submitted by: Date:

Position: Phone:

Email address:

Formal Inspection is defined in the Dam Safety Regulation (Regulation) as “a thorough on-site inspection of the dam and dam site conducted by a person who is an owner of the dam or an agent of an owner of the dam and who is responsible for the safety of the dam”. The minimum frequency for formal inspections is annually for high and very-high consequence dams and semi-annually for extreme consequence dams. A formal inspection report must be recorded and kept by the dam owner and must be available for review, if requested, by the Dam Safety Officer (DSO). Further information on formal inspections can be found in the Dam Safety Program’s Inspection & Maintenance of Dams manual which is available on the Dam Safety website. Many dam owners hire an engineering consultant to undertake the formal inspection of their dams, but this is not a requirement of the Regulation.

Site Surveillance is defined in the Regulation as “the monitoring of a dam and the area surrounding or adjacent to the dam through visual observation, and if there is instrumentation relating to the dam, through the systematic collection of instrumentation readings and analysis and interpretation of the readings”. The minimum frequency for site surveillance is weekly for high, very high and extreme consequence dams. Site surveillance may be conducted at a reduced frequency to suit seasonal conditions (e.g. snow cover); however, these conditions and the reduced frequency must be described in the dam’s Operation, Maintenance & Surveillance Manual*.

Dam Safety Concerns: An owner of a dam who has a dam safety concern or becomes aware of a potential dam safety hazard must promptly notify a DSO and prepare a plan that sets out any actions required to rectify the potential safety hazard. The DSO is available to discuss any concerns about the safety of the dam and can assist the dam owner in determining the severity of a potential safety hazard. Please see Section 14 - Hazardous conditions, and Section 15 - Potential safety hazard, of the Regulation for further actions required by the dam owner.

Dam Safety Reviews (DSRs) are comprehensive formal evaluations by a qualified professional engineer conducted every 10 years for high and very high consequence dams and every 7 years for extreme consequence dams to determine whether an existing dam meets current engineering standards. DSRs shall be carried out in accordance with the Regulation, EGBC’s DSR Guideline and the Canadian Dam Association (CDA) Guideline. A link to the EGBC’s DSR Guideline is available at https://www.egbc.ca/. The CDA Guidelines can be purchased at www.cda.ca.

Operation, Maintenance and Surveillance (OMS) Manual*: An owner of a dam is required to have an OMS manual for their dam which must be reviewed and updated at least every 7 years for very high and extreme consequence dams, and at least every 10 years for high consequence dams. A simplified OMS manual template for less complex dams is available on the Dam Safety website.

Dam Emergency Plan (DEP)*: An owner of a dam is required to have a DEP for their dam which must be reviewed and updated at least every 7 years for very high and extreme consequence dams, and at least every 10 years for high consequence dams. An owners of a dam is also required to annually review and, if necessary, revise the Emergency Contact Information in their DEP, and submit revised information to the DSO and to the local emergency authority. For guidance on the required DEP information to submit to the local emergency authority, refer to the Guide & Template for Preparing a Dam Emergency Plan (DEP) in British Columbia available on the Dam Safety website.

Downstream Conditions: An owner of a dam must review conditions downstream of their dams annually and notify the DSO if there are changes (e.g. land development) that might result in a change in the dam failure consequence classification of the dam (See Schedule 1 of the Regulation). If the classification of a dam changes, the owner of the dam must, as soon as practicable after the owner becomes aware of the changed classification, comply with the provisions of the Regulation that apply to a dam having that changed classification.

Dam Safety Training: English common law, on which our legal system is based, considers dams to be inherently dangerous structures and those who own dams are liable for any damages that are caused by them. An owner of a dam is clearly responsible for the safe operation and maintenance of their dam. To assist dam owner understanding of their requirements under the Regulation and engineering best practices regarding dam safety, the Dam Safety Program, in collaboration with industry partners, have developed and offer dam safety training opportunities. There are also many other organizations, such as the Canadian Dam Association, that offer dam safety training workshops and others that offer this training online. Refer to the Dam Safety Program website for more information on training opportunities.

*Note: simplified versions of DEP and OMS for less complex dams may be acceptable (see templates in the Guidebook entitled Inspection & Maintenance of Dams, available on the Dam Safety Website at: (www.gov.bc.ca/damsafety).