Page 4592 - Week 12 - Thursday, 26 October 2017
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(7) Will the outcome of the safety reviews be made public.
(8) Are the monitoring and inspections routine and reviews set out under the Australian National Committee on Large Dams’ standards being met for each of the dams servicing the ACT; if not, why not and what is being done to ensure the appropriate standards are being met.
Mr Barr: The following answers to the member’s questions have been sought from Icon Water Limited (Icon Water), which operates as an independent corporation:
1. Comprehensive Dam Safety Reviews for Bendora dam were undertaken in 2008 and 2012 and peer reviewed in 2017. Identified risks were negligible. The next review is scheduled for 2020-21. Comprehensive reviews are currently in progress for Googong, Corin and Lower Molonglo dams. Expected completion dates are detailed below:
|
(a) Googong |
June 2018. |
|
(b) Corin |
September 2018. |
|
(c) Lower Molonglo |
June 2018. |
2a. The Icon Water Dam Safety Management System Audit was completed by GHD in June 2015. There was no delay in responding to audit findings as preparation for the Safety Reviews commenced immediately in 2015. The schedule was agreed with the ACT Utilities Technical Regulator. These reviews require engagement of independent specialist dam safety experts and the collection of technical information for analysis by a team of dam design professionals.
2b. Icon Water’s surveillance procedures for their dam structures provide for all levels of surveillance and monitoring in accordance with the Dam Safety Management guidelines agreed with the Utilities Technical Regulator. The June 2015 audit identified that 20 year comprehensive dam safety reviews were now due to be undertaken to completely satisfy all technical requirements of the guidelines.
3. The Australian National Committee On Large Dams (ANCOLD) guidelines recommend Safety Reviews be carried out at 10-20 year intervals. Icon Water prioritises these safety reviews based on risk (as per ANCOLD Guidelines). As the Lower Molonglo Bypass Dam is a “Low” consequence category dam, completion of a safety review had been planned for 2017-18. The safety review is currently underway.
The Lower Molonglo Water Quality Control Centre Bypass Dam is used to store excess effluent if the sewage treatment plant is not able to process all of the inflow, for example during wet weather events. The Bypass Dam does not hold water permanently and is generally kept empty.
4. Following receipt of correspondence from the NSW Dams Committee in 2014, inspection procedures were immediately updated. This included a detailed work instruction for daily dam inspection, an updated inspection check sheet and daily leakage monitoring.
The Googong Dam Safety Emergency Plan (DSEP) was approved by the then Director General, Environment and Planning Directorate in September 2014. The DSEP is reviewed and updated annually as required under the ACT Dam Safety Code.
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