Emergency Action Plan
for very low or low consequence category dam1
Insert name of the referable dam>
Version <insert number>
Registered dam ID: / <insert registered dam’s ID number>Current as at: / <insert the date the EAP was approved by the chief executive>[1]
Approved to: / <insert the date the EAP is approved to>2
Dam owner
Name: / insert name of dam owner (or name of owner’s representativeDate: / <insert date the EAP was submitted to the chief executive
Approval and authorisation
Prepared by / Title / Date<insert name of dam owner (or name of owner’s representative) / dd/mm/yyyy
Endorsed by: / Title / Date
<insert name of dam owner (or name of owner’s representative> / Dam Owner / dd/mm/yyyy
<insert name of Chair of Local Disaster Management Group (or name of Chair’s representative> / Chair Disaster Management Group / dd/mm/yyyy
<insert name of Chief Executive Officer of the Local Council or name of representative> / Chief Executive Officer, ## Council / dd/mm/yyyy
Disclaimer
You should note that the wording is not intended to be relied upon as an exact statement of the requirements of the legislation and users should refer to the relevant Acts when considering the legislative requirements.
Notwithstanding anything in the template that might be interpreted to the contrary, the provisions of the relevant Act hold force.
No responsibility is accepted for actions taken or any losses sustained based on reliance on an interpretation of this guideline to the exclusion of the relevant legislative provisions.
In particular, dam owners and their agents must take their own legal advice as to whether their actions meet the requirements of the legislation and community expectations.
Emergency action planning should be viewed as an ongoing continued improvement process that incorporates detailed disaster risk management principles and aligns with Local Government Disaster Management Plans.
Distribution list[2]
EAP distributed to / Name, position and postal address / Distribution copy no.Dam owner / <insert name/s and address/es of the dam owner/s / 1
Emergency contact / <insert names and addresses of the emergency contact> / 2
Local Disaster Management Group / <insert names and addresses of the LDMG> / 3
District Disaster management Group / <insert names and addresses of the DDMG> / 4
Chief Executive Officer, ## Council / <insert name and address of the Local Council / 5
Dam Safety Regulator, DEWS / Director, Dam Safety
Water Planning and Regulation
Department of Energy and Water Supply
PO Box 15456
City East Qld 4002 / 6
Dam personnel / <insert names and postal addresses of any dam owner personnel who have a copy of the EAP for operational purposes>
Others / <insert names and postal addresses of any others who have a copy of the EAP for operational purposes>
1. Dam information
Dam name: / <insert name of the dam>Referable dam register no.: / <insert the RDR identification number>
Owners name: / <insert name of dam owner’s site contact>
Owners phone no.: / <insert contact details for the site>
Emergency contact name:
(if dam owner cannot be contacted) / insert the name of emergency contact> as the standby operator, who will undertake all the roles and responsibility of this EAP in the absence of <insert the name of dam owner>.
Emergency contact phone no.: / <insert contact details of the alternate contact>
Stream name: / <insert stream name if on a watercourse. If dam is not on a watercourse, insert ‘Not on a watercourse’>
Reservoir name: / <insert name of the reservoir, if relevant>
Construction completed / <insert date construction completed, if known
Type of dam / <insert type of dam e.g. earthfill embankment
Purpose of dam / <insert purpose for dam e.g. irrigation
Storage capacity / <insert storage capacity at Full Supply Level (in megalitres)
Dam Height / <insert dam height in meters>
Dam Crest Level / <insert Dam Crest Level elevation (EL) in meters>
Full Supply Level / <insert Full Supply Level elevation (EL) in meters>
Spillway Type and width / <insert description of spillway and width in meters
Population at risk (PAR) / <insert PAR from Failure Impact Assessment (for Sunny Day Failure and Flood Failure cases)
Dam Consequence Category2 / <insert
2 Note that this template can only be used for “very low” or “low” consequence category dam. Please refer to the ANCOLD Guidelines on the Consequence Categories for Dams for specific definitions.
2. Dam location
Latitude: / <insert latitude of dam – input as decimal degrees or in degrees, minutes and seconds. This information may appear in the FIA for your dam or be taken from Google Earth.>Longitude: / <insert longitude of dam – input as decimal degrees or in degrees, minutes and seconds. This information may appear in the FIA for your dam or be taken from Google Earth.>
Physical address: / <insert address of dam or property on which it is located>
Lot and plan numbers: / <insert Lot on Plan details for the land on which the dam is located e.g. Lot 123 on RP12345>
3. Dam owner responsibilities
· Develop an emergency action plan in consultation and collaboration with local government and disaster management group/s who may be affected by a dam hazard identified in the plan.
· Provide a copy of the EAP to each local government and disaster management group who may be affected by a dam hazard identified in the plan. These stakeholders have 30 business days to review the plan. The local government must provide a notice back to the dam owner within the 30 business days, the disaster management group may provide a notice, however it is not compulsory.
· The local government assessment notice of the EAP against the Disaster Management Plan and all notices received by the dam owner from the chairperson/s of the district (disaster management) group/s must be provided to DEWS at the time of EAP submission.
· Assess the EAP against the outcomes of the Queensland Emergency Management Assurance Framework (https://www.igem.qld.gov.au/assurance-framework/Pages/default.aspx). The Emergency Management Prioritisation Tool (https://www.igem.qld.gov.au/assurance-framework/Pages/Prioritisation-Tool.aspx) may be utilised for this purpose.
· Submit the EAP to the chief executive for assessment. The EAP must be accompanied by each notice given by a local government (must have), disaster management group for the plan (if received) and any notice responses by the dam owner.
· Maintain and update documents annually (before 1 October each year)
· Distribute current approved EAP to all parties listed in the distribution list.
· Respond in accordance with the approved EAP in all dam relevant incidents.
· Activate the EAP and maintain an incident log (including visual inspection of the dam and any notifications that have been made).
· Provide timely and accurate notifications to all relevant parties mentioned in the notification list in a relevant dam hazard event or emergency event.
· Report all incidents and failures in writing to the chief executive within forty-eight (48) hours of becoming aware of the incident or failure.
· Prepare Emergency Event Report (EER) and submit to the chief executive within 30 business days after the end of the emergency event.
· Ensure the Population at Risk (PAR) have an appropriate evacuation plan in the event of a dam failure.
· Ensure the Population at Risk (PAR) have an understanding of the purpose of the warning and notifications in the event of a dam emergency or dam hazard.
· Ensure appropriate training for all personnel with responsibilities under the EAP.
· Undertake periodic testing of EAP to ensure telephone numbers are correct and the notification priority list is logical. Make appropriate dam safety related decisions based on advice from a consulting engineer where appropriate. The dam owner is also responsible for authorising any immediate expenditure so that urgent repair work will not be delayed.
· Undertake regular on-site monitoring and visual inspection of the conditions at the dam. The dam owner is responsible for conducting a safety evaluation of the dam and to identify any deficiency in the dam’s safety. Where deficiencies exist, the dam owner is required to take appropriate steps to minimise the potential risk of dam failure from these deficiencies.
4. Warning and communication plan
There are high community expectations that all dam owners will provide timely warnings and notifications of a dam hazard event or emergency event. For this reason the Act requires the Dam owner to state within the EAP when and how PAR and relevant entities will be contacted in the event of a dam emergency (including priority order).
The purpose of emergency warnings is to inform the PAR of an impending or current threat and promote an appropriate responsive action.
Depending on the location of the dam and the number of PAR that may need to be notified of warning it may be appropriate that the warning is issued via a personalised phone call or personal visit.
Emergency Action Plan for <insert name of dam> EAP version No. Approved: <insert date after approved>
Page 19
4.1 Notification listing
Relevant agencies / Priority order4 /Name / Location / Contact details[3] / Notification requirement[4] / Flood failure / Sunny day failure /
<insert name if PAR is other than the dam owner(s)> / <insert address of the PAR> / <insert contact details of PAR> / · Provide necessary information regarding the developing dam hazard event or emergency event at regular interval
· Immediately request to evacuate if the dam is likely to fail
Chief Executive (Dam Safety Regulator, DEWS) / Brisbane / 1300 596 709 / · Advise of details of activation of EAP to ‘Stand-up’ level of activation.
· Keep informed of any changes in dam status as emergency situation develops.
· Notify any incidents or failures in accordance with safety conditions, if applicable, where applied to the dam.
Local Disaster Management Group / <insert the name of the local disaster management group and location of the contact> / <insert contact details> / <Notification requirements for this and following sections of the table must be consistent with the event escalation tables produced later in the document. These will vary on a case by case basis and will need to be discussed with the relevant Local Disaster Management Group. This section should also set out who needs to be notified and in what circumstances this is required with reference to the relevant dam hazard event or emergency event level.>
Locall Council / <insert name and location of the local council> / <insert contact details> / <The local government might only need to be advised if road closures need to be considered. Discuss with relevant local government.>
Local Police Station / <insert name and location of the local police station> / 000
<also insert contact details for the local police station> / The local police may only need to be contacted during an event where an evacuation is required.
Executive Manager, Queensland Fire and Emergency Services / <insert name and location of the local QFES centre / <insert contact details>
State Disaster Coordination Centre Watch Desk Officer / <insert name and location of the local SDCC centre / < insert contact details>
State Emergency Service (SES) (if relevant) / <insert name and location of the local SES centre> / <insert contact details> / <Discuss with the Local Disaster Management Group whether the SES is likely to be needed.>
National Security Hotline / 1800 123 400 / The National Security Hotline is your single point of contact to provide information on possible signs of terrorism and about issues that may relate to national security.
Consulting Engineer / <insert name and location of the consulting engineer who you would contact in the event of problems at the dam> / <insert contact details>
Staff contacts / <insert name and location of relevant staff involved in the EAP (if any)> / <insert contact details>
Bureau of Meteorology / Weather radar
Rainfall and river conditions
Forecasts / www.bom.gov.au/qld / · No notification requirements
· Website to be used during a rainfall event to predict the impact of flows from the catchment into the dam
Emergency Action Plan for <insert name of dam> EAP version No. Approved: <insert date after approved>
Page 19
4.2 Downstream affected properties (PAR) [5]
Name / Location / Contact details / Notification requirementAffected house 1 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Affected house 2 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Affected house 3 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Affected house 4 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Affected house 5 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Affected house 6 / Phone:
UHF Radio:
Other affected infrastructure / Phone: / May need to insert details for notification of impact on downstream roads or other infrastructure if relevant>
5. Dam Hazard, Dam Hazard Event and Dam Emergency event
The emergency action plan must identify each dam hazard for the dam.
Under the Act ‘dam hazard’ means a reasonable foreseeable situation or condition that may:
· cause or contribute to the failure of the dam, if the failure of the dam may cause harm to people or property; or
· require an automatic or controlled release of water from the dam, if the release of water from the dam may cause harm to people or property.
The main purpose of an emergency action plan is to minimise the risk of harm to persons and property if a dam hazard event or an emergency event for the dam happens. The difference between a ‘dam hazard event’ and an ‘emergency event’ will relate to the scale and severity of an event.
A ‘dam hazard event’ is an event arising from a dam hazard if:
· the dam owner plans to warn people who may be harmed, or whose property may be
· harmed, about the event under the dam owner’s emergency action plan; but a coordinated response with one or more relevant entities is unlikely to be required.
In other words, a dam hazard event is an event or a point in time, related to a dam hazard, when the dam owner plans to respond under the dam owner’s emergency action plan.
An ‘emergency event’, for a dam, means an event arising from a dam hazard if:
(a) persons or property may be harmed because of the event; and
(b) any of the following apply—