Almost FIFTY reservoirs across Britain have dams in need of safety work, experts reveal in wake of Whaley Bridge scare
- Forty-eight reservoirs need repairs or construction to meet safety standards
- Fifteen Category A reservoirs have repairs outstanding, it emerged yesterday
- Category A represents the most danger to life in case of reservoir collapse
Dozens of dams present a potential risk to life because their owners have not carried out vital safety work.
Forty-eight reservoirs require repairs or additional construction in order to meet standards.
The Environment Agency has revealed that some owners have not shown that they have emergency plans to cope with collapses or overflow, The Times reports.
It comes after Todbrook reservoir collapsed in Whaley Bridge, leaving 1,500 people fleeing their homes. The dam had no outstanding safety work and passed a safety inspection last year.
Pictured: A Chinook drops sandbags to plug the gap of the dam at Whaley Bridge in Derbyshire as it faced bursting
Workers are pictured attempting to block the waters they feared would burst through the Toddbrook Reservoir dam
Yesterday it emerged that 15 Category A reservoirs have outstanding repairs. This type of dam is the most dangerous in case of a collapse.
Great Barr Lower Lake near Birmingham in the West Midlands was supposed to have an overflow pipe repaired by December 2015, but owner BCG Lakes failed to carry them out until two months ago.
Welbeck Estates, which runs Great Lake in Nottinghamshire, was granted extensions from the Environment Agency along with other reservoir owners.
Work at three other British dams should have been finished by 2016 and seven others were supposed to be finished by 2017.
The number of reservoirs with outstanding safety work rose to 49 last April, up from 35 in 2013.
The Environment Agency says that operators are responsible for the safety of 2,072 reservoirs across the country.
Labour MP for High Peak Ruth George said that Whaley Bridge should be a ‘wake-up call’ as to the dangers.
BCG Lakes said that Great Barr Hall was a complicated case due to it being a historical listed site.
They say that certain conditions having to be met before and during works slowed down completion.
Chief executive of the Environment Agency Sir James Bevan said the group will ‘not hesitate to prosecute operators if they fail to take action and cause a threat to life’.