Guidelines on Dam Safety Management (2003)

Category: Guidelines

These dam safety guidelines are intended to apply to what might be termed conventional dams (eg. for water supply, irrigation, power and flood mitigation). Guidelines for dam safety management of tailings dams are published separately.

These guidelines have been developed by ANCOLD with the aim of promoting appropriate dam safety management practices in Australia. It is recognised that circumstances vary enormously from dam to dam and different administrative frameworks apply in each state. Some states have specific dam legislation while other rely on more general provisions. For these reasons, ANCOLD puts this guideline forward as an advisory document that must be interpreted by appropriately qualified and experienced professionals in each case. In no sense is it intended that they should be regarded as a standard.

The guidelines will again be reviewed when knowledge and practice have developed to the point where an upgrade is required. With this in mind, comment from users and others is welcomed.

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Guidelines on Risk Assessment (2003)
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In Australia we have a very diverse portfolio of dams, some regarded as being designed and constructed before there was a good understanding of the loading conditions that could apply. Sometimes there is limited knowledge of the actual details of construction and always there is a desire to ensure that the community’s resources are properly applied. The difficulty facing those who allocate funds for the benefit of the community measure the cost against the benefit achieved and to compare that with opportunities available.

Risk Assessment gives us the tools to estimate the likelihood of a circumstance occurring and of its consequences. It also gives us the tools to estimate what these will be after any improvement. These tools are diverse and can be imprecise. As time goes on our methods will improve but chance and circumstance will always be with us. But, if we use consistent methods, we will generally be able to rank the possible outcomes and compare them, in scale, with others.

ANCOLD is aware of the diversity of dams and the circumstance associated with them and offers this document merely as an indicator of the approach that may be taken. Nevertheless we hope that its adoption will lead to greater comparability between individual workers.
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Guidelines on the Consequence Categories for Dams (October 2012)
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ANCOLD has prepared these important Guidelines to provide a consistent method of categorising the consequences of dam failure so that resources can be allocated according to the potential effects of failure on the general community.

These Guidelines replace the ANCOLD Guidelines on the Assessment of the Consequences of Dam Failure issued in May 2000 and follow a similar approach. However, they include quite significant changes aimed at providing enhanced description of Consequence Categories and making them easier and more consistent to use.

The Technical Working Group has made every effort to make these Guidelines straightforward to use by professional engineers and consistent with other ANCOLD guidelines.

However the complexity of determining the various parameters that make up each Consequence Category means that only experienced dam engineering professionals should interpret and use these Guidelines when making decisions that could impact on community safety, community cost and services, infrastructure, natural environment, heritage, and the owner’s and other businesses.
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Guidelines on Tailings Dams – Planning, Design, Construction, Operation and Closure – REVISION 1 (July 2019)
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ANCOLD published the Guidelines on Tailings Dams in May 2012. The Guidelines have been widely used both in Australia and internationally.

Since 2012, there have been a number of tragic tailings dam failures which have attracted world-wide attention. This revision is ANCOLD’s initial response to these events and other relevant matters.

Some of the important matters covered in this revision include reinforcement of the need for robust management practices, updates on earthquake considerations to align with the ANCOLD Guidelines for Design of Dams and Appurtenant Structures for Earthquake (2019) and additional information on static liquefaction.

In regard to management practices, the need for users of the Tailings Guidelines to also take account relevant aspects of the ANCOLD Guidelines on Dam Safety Management (2003) must be emphasised. ANCOLD considers it essential that these two guidelines be used together by practitioners seeking to manage tailings dam safety.

ANCOLD is pleased to continue its contributions to the promotion of tailings dam safety. The work has been prepared through a great deal of voluntary work by the Tailings Dam Sub-Committee of ANCOLD, led by Mr David Brett.

As with all ANCOLD guidelines, this guideline is not a design code or standard and has been produced for the guidance of experienced practitioners who are required to apply their own professional skill and judgement in its application. Users must keep abreast of developments in the management and design of tailings dams and take those developments into account when using these guidelines.

The guidelines will again be reviewed when knowledge and practice have developed to a point when an update is required. Accordingly, ANCOLD welcomes comments from users and other interested parties.
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Guidelines on Strengthening and Raising Concrete Gravity Dams (1992)
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Guidelines for Dam Instrumentation and Monitoring Systems (1983)
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As this current guideline contains useful information, the ANCOLD Executive decided to reprint a small quantity which are now available for purchase.

The Watching Brief Guidelines for Dam Instrumentation and Monitoring Systems (1983), established following the Dam Instrumentation Workshop in Sydney, continues to scan for information and topical developments related to the monitoring of dams using a range of instrumentation techniques. A position paper outlining the current status for the Executive is planned for 2013 and will provide a mechanism to move forward on the need for an updated guideline.

Members wishing to contribute papers, views, or information to the watching brief should contact Chris Topham via the ANCOLD secretariat [email protected]ancold.org.au
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