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Dam safety compliance and enforcement

Last updated on November 20, 2025

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).

2025 Annual Self-Reporting

The 2025 Annual Self-Reporting exercise is temporarily deferred for dams administered by the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. Owners of High, Very High, and Extreme Consequence dams will receive an email confirming that this requirement is not expected to occur during the usual December to March period. Please continue to monitor this page for any updates, including information related to 2026 Reporting.

For dams administered by the BC Energy Regulator, 2025 Annual Self-Reporting will continue. Separate emails will also be sent regarding this requirement.

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.