Dam emergency planning

The emergency management of dams was the focus of a short course recently delivered in part by Seqwater Principal Engineer John Tibaldi.

The Australian National Committee on Large Dam (ANCOLD) course was presented in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane mid-June to provide dam owners and dam safety regulators with a comprehensive understanding of emergency planning.

Seqwater Principal Engineer for Dam Safety and Flood Management John Tibaldi has over 30 years’ experience in the operation of large dams and has developed emergency action plans for numerous high- and extreme-hazard dams.

“I have also worked closely with emergency response agencies to support the development of emergency response plans for potential dam emergencies, and manage the flood impacts associated with large dam releases,” Tibaldi said.

This expertise was used to develop two components of the ANCOLD Dam Safety Emergency Planning short course.

Tibaldi developed and delivered the ‘Introduction to Dam Safety Emergency Planning’ and ‘Dam Safety Emergency Plan Critical Elements’ presentations and, in addition, provided input to the other presentations.

“Planning for emergencies allows us to respond quickly to potential incidents as soon as they are identified and to undertake targeted and effective intervention actions to prevent the situation developing into an emergency event,” he said.

“A comprehensive dam safety management program also enables organisations such as Seqwater to provide appropriate and effective warnings in relation to emergency incidents and events, including flood events.

“Our plan, supported by internal programs, ensures Seqwater can respond effectively to any emergency event impacting on its water supply infrastructure.”

Tibaldi said the short course, delivered in each city over a full day, had provided attendees with information in regard to developing, using, exercising and reviewing dam safety emergency plans.

“Most major dam owners and dam safety regulators from across Australia attended, as well as representatives from a variety of emergency response agencies, gaining a valuable insight into emergency preparedness.”