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Dam safety compliance and enforcement

Last updated on November 28, 2024

Dam owners must be certain that their dams meet current engineering standards. Dam owners are required to:

  • Annually redetermine the dam failure consequence classification
  • Perform regular inspections and maintenance
  • Report any incidents
  • Take immediate action to resolve outstanding issues
  • Review the regulation

Annual Self-Report

Completed annual self-reports (formerly, dam status report) are required for:

  • Owners of dams with a failure consequence classification of high, very high, or extreme for each dam
  • Petroleum and natural gas sector owners of regulated active dams
  • Owners of dams that require reclassification to one of these failure consequence ratings

Dam safety officers use the information in annual self-reports to:

  • Assess compliance between dam safety audits
  • Ensure information in the provincial dam database is current
  • Help dam owners address any emerging dam safety issues

Dam safety officers may contact dam owners to request more information or arrange a meeting to discuss dam safety concerns. More information about annual self-reporting is available in the Annual Self-Report Information Sheet (PDF, 262MB).

2024 Annual Self-Reporting

Dam owners will receive a letter from the Comptroller of Water Rights or the BC Energy Regulator Engineer designated under the Water Sustainability Act in December of 2024 with instructions for completing and submitting the 2024 annual self-report.

The deadline for submitting completed reports to the Dam Safety Program is March 3, 2025.

Online annual self-reporting

The Provincial Dam Safety Program has introduced online report submission for annual self-reports. Dam owners are encouraged to complete and submit reports online through FrontCounter BC. Instructions for completing reports online can be found on page 2 of the Annual Self-Report Information Sheet (PDF, 262MB). For more detailed step-by-step instructions, please refer to the Annual Self-Report User Guide (PDF, 3.2MB).

If you do not have a computer, or require assistance completing your report online, please contact FrontCounter BC by:

Alternative annual self-reporting

Complete and submit the report using the Annual Self-Report form (DOCX, 178KB) if you:

  • Are unable to complete the report online
  • Did not receive a letter from the Comptroller or the designated BC Energy Regulator Engineer
  • Own a dam that requires reclassification to a high, very high, or extreme failure consequence rating
  • Are a petroleum and natural gas sector dam owner with a new regulated active dam

If you are the owner of more than one dam, you must complete and submit a separate form for each dam with a high, very high, or extreme failure consequence classification. For oil and gas dam owners, a separate form for each regulated active dam applies.

Questions?

For more information contact Kevin Lee, Dam Safety Resource Specialist, at 604-586-4442 or email Dam.Safety@gov.bc.ca.

Dam Safety Compliance and Enforcement Policy, Strategy and Procedures

The Dam Safety Compliance and Enforcement Policy supports implementation of the program's Compliance and Enforcement Strategy and Procedures. The strategy and procedures provide a framework and decision-support tools for Dam Safety Officers and Natural Resource Officers. The tools complement existing practices and clarify when a dam safety compliance process becomes an enforcement process. These and other Water Sustainability Act related policies are also available here:

Contact information

If you have questions about your responsibilities as a dam owner, please contact the B.C. Dam Safety Program.