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On the new technical safety standards for dams and ponds The concession of the legal servitude of aqueducts on the premises of others shall expire if the concessionaire does not make use of it within the prescribed period, after the owner of each agent loan has fully satisfied the assessment referred to in Article 127. The easement already introduced is defined as follows: the scope extends to large dams (categories A, B or C), category A or B dams and sideways, since their classification, although independent of that of the dam to which they belong, is part of the same hydraulic complex. Technical Safety Standard 3 deals with the dismantling phase, safety inspections and decommissioning of dams and their reservoirs. There are already requirements for Class C dams, which are also regularly inspected. One of the requirements for the technician responsible for the design, construction or commissioning of dams is that he or she must have a degree in civil engineering. – Royal Decree 9/2008 of 11. January 2008 amending the Regulation respecting the public hydraulic zone, which added a new Title VII on the safety of dams, reservoirs and ponds, which for large dams (height greater than 15 metres and between 10 and 15 metres high, has a storage capacity of more than 1 cubic tectometre) and category A or B dams according to their potential risk; and for the purposes of the application for classification and registration, dams and ponds with a height of more than 5 metres or a storage capacity exceeding 100 000 m3 owned by private or public owners, which exist, are under construction or are to be constructed, have also been included in the scope of this Title. Article 364 of that Royal Decree stipulated that technical safety standards had to be approved by Royal Decree on the basis of a report from the Technical Committee for Dam Safety and the Commission for Standards for Large Dams. Since the entry into force of Royal Decree 9/2008 of 11 January, which amends the Regulation on the Public Hydraulic Zone, approved by Royal Decree 849/1986 of 11 April, it has been pending updating the instructions for the design, construction and operation of large dams of 1967 and the Technical Regulation on the Safety of Dams and Reservoirs of 1996. That is, it was a call or a clear mandate to the General State Administration to draft and approve technical standards for dam safety.

On the other hand, since it is a Royal Decree, the technical aspects are of a legal nature. Safety audits should be conducted by a team independent of the dam operations team. These inspections are carried out every 5 years for category A dams and every 10 years for category B or C dams. – Article 7 Cooperation in the field of dam safety. This article is currently in preparation. The above article mentions the cooperating enterprises that must be accredited and approved. These facilities will cooperate with the administration, cooperate with dam owners, carry out technical studies, etc. This article should answer the following question: Which professionals will work in these cooperating units? The behaviour of small dams is closer to the behaviour of large dams in the riverbed than to the behaviour of ponds outside the channel; Mainly because dams are affected by flooding and ponds are not. This fact justifies that this standard ultimately applies to dams (large dams and small dams) and that ponds are therefore subject to a different specific standard. Class C dams must have at least one drainage pipe. – Technical advice for the preparation of dam emergency plans, 2001.

This guide develops the basic planning guideline for flood risk disaster preparedness in relation to dam emergency plans, which includes recommendations to facilitate the tasks of dam owners. – The 1996 Technical Regulation on the safety of dams and reservoirs includes specific legislation in line with the Civil Protection Directive`s guidelines on classification and emergency plans, in addition to other aspects such as dam safety reviews and annual examination reports. etc. Another difference that has been highlighted between dams and rafts is the fact that it is more difficult for several ponds to break at the same time than for several dams to break at the same time. It is true that a simultaneous rupture of several rafts could occur, for example, in an area of high seismicity. On the other hand, climate change poses a challenge and new opportunities for existing dams that are in operation, which requires safety reviews, especially in terms of hydrological safety, which can include reforms to update them and adapt drainage components. In fact, in recent years, the number of incidents or dam failures has increased. According to the statistical data of the ICOLD until 1925, the probability of dam failure was 3.3%, at the end of the 20th century, the probability of failure was about 0.25%, but between 2000 and 2015, the probability of failure in the world increased to a value of 0.4%.

– The basic planning guideline for civil protection against flood risks of January 1995 provided for planning and planning measures in the event of an emergency due to a failure or serious failure of a dam. It introduced mandatory classification and the preparation and implementation of emergency dam plans. All allegations against the three draft technical safety standards for large dams at the public information stage have been analysed and examined in detail. The fact that it has received numerous accusations has allowed the Large Dam Standards Commission to discuss them further. – Article 8. Concessions. For example, dams associated with the use of hydroelectricity. Upcoming concession expirations. This article also specifies the minimum requirements that must be met before the dam is returned to the administration. The Regulations apply to all dams owned by the State Administration and dams benefiting from administrative concessions after the entry into force of the Regulations. The instruction applies to private dams built before 1996.

The reality is that in Spain there is a park of dams with a considerable number of them that have existed for more than half a century and that require maintenance, conservation, renovation, etc. And these tasks require a continuous investment of time. Technical Safety Standard No. 1 deals with the classification, preparation and implementation of emergency plans for dams and their reservoirs. Background information, technical advice, accumulated experience and public participation were important in the development of this standard. In countries such as the United States, the urban problem of land-use change, which increases the potential risk downstream of dams or downstream of ponds, is addressed by insurance policies. In Tokyo, there are already several dams that have been surrounded by the city itself. It should be remembered that in Spain, the insurance compensation consortium intervenes when a disaster area is declared or when there is an extraordinary cause (major floods, earthquakes, etc.). Can hydrological planning in Spain, with its mandatory regulations, solve this problem? If the quantity of water to be extracted or discharged from its natural watercourse does not exceed 100 litres per second, the concession is made by the municipality according to the corresponding expedient. Similarly, municipalities authorize the reconstruction of old dams for irrigation or other purposes.

Where the work to be carried out on the dams is only repair work, the authorisation of the local authority is sufficient. Unlike dams, ponds are generally not designed to collect surface runoff, but are filled in a controlled manner. Therefore, they are generally not affected by flooding. Therefore, and despite the fact that rafts previously did not have a regulatory framework at the state level, regulations from dams to rafts cannot be easily transferred, the issue must be well studied and carried out with criteria. – Guide for the implementation of the 2017 emergency plan of the Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergency Situations. This guide sets out criteria and recommendations for the implementation of the dam emergency plan, the further development of the provisions of the civil protection planning by-law, and the safety of dams and ponds. The users of rafts as owners have a number of responsibilities, but they do not have a legal framework that provides them with legal certainty.