Preparing and Exercising Emergency Action Plans to Minimize Dam Safety Risk

摘要

Human intervention is a crucial step in the dam safety risk management process. Although a structurally sound and properly maintained dam may have a low probability of failure, there is still a risk to downstream populations if dam operations staff don't know what actions to take during a flood or dam safety incident. How do dam owners manage this component of dam safety risk? The answer is emergency management preparedness. It is critical that dam owners are adequately prepared to (1) quickly detect a situation at a dam that would result in flooding downstream, (2) accurately classify the severity of that situation, (3) effectively notify public safety authorities who are responsible for warning and evacuation of populations at risk, and 4) intervene to prevent dam failure if possible. A robust emergency management program is built on four essential components: 1. Written organizational standards based on national policy 2. A standardized emergency action plan (EAP) template 3. An effective testing, training, and exercise (TT&E) strategy and corrective action program (CAP) 4. An organizational incident management strategy Dam owners and emergency management professionals can improve their programs by relying on these components to better define their emergency management programs and emergency action planning. Planning processes and tools that are effective, user friendly, and policy compliant can significantly reduce risk by ensuring consistency and maximizing effectiveness of personnel response during emergencies.