2024 – Governance Forums for Dam Safety Programs: What Does Good Look Like?

Chris Topham, Shane McGrath

Management of dams which pose life safety risk has been compared to managing high hazard facilities such as petrochemical plants or nuclear power stations. There are numerous owners in Australia that own a portfolio of such structures, producing cumulative risks, and requiring careful and diligent management. A key requirement of the operations phase of the asset lifecycle is a formal, periodic, and comprehensive governance process that provides oversight, review, and assurance that the elements of the dam safety program are effectively delivered. Guidance for dam safety program governance is currently under consideration for inclusion in the update of the 2003 Dam Safety Management Guidelines, with the Working Group considering pursuing an approach suitable for a wide range of owners. This paper presents the key characteristics of a successful governance process for dam safety programs, and offers guidance on how to establish and maintain a simple, scalable, periodic governance forum to provide the owner with assurance that the dam safety program is delivering on its objectives. The paper goes beyond advice for compliance with regulatory requirements, and describes what value-adding governance can look like and provides a practical “template” for a scalable governance approach.