Risk Management for U. K. Reservoirs

No lives have been lost through the failure of a dam in the UK since 1930, when reservoir safety legislation was introduced. However, no one should be complacent about the risk posed by reservoirs, as Britain still has a large stock of embankment dams built more than 100 years ago before the development of soil mechanics. Tolerance of risk or hazard is lower today than in the past, and demands for accountability and transparency are correspondingly higher, thereby increasing the need for adequate risk assessment and risk management.