Page - 1348 - in Book of Full Papers - Symposium Hydro Engineering

SUMMARY This paper not only summarize the history of Dam Safety implementation in South Africa from its earliest humble beginnings in the 1970s to the implementation of Dam Safety legislation in 1980s and the update of the relevant regulations in 2012 but also provide insight into the required regulatory processes during the lifespan of a dam. A summary is provided of the lessons learnt in the implementation of the legislation including the positive influence of effective dam safety legislation and the fact that it takes time and significant resources to implement a dam safety regulatory system. It is also important to note that these lessons learnt were used to help some other African countries starting with the implementation of Dam Safety regulatory systems in their countries. From the lessons learnt from the implementation of dam safety legislation in South Africa the following is of importance:  It is of prime importance to convince political decisions makers about the necessity for Dam Safety implementation including the necessary legislative and regulatory environment.  It takes time and significant resources to successful implement a dam safety regulatory system – for example after more than 30 years existing dams are still being registered in South Africa. It also takes time and effort to classify the dams as well as establish regulatory compliance;  Dam Safety legislation, enforced by dedicated and experienced officials (in the DSO), has a positive correlation with the decrease in the number of incidents and failures of dams built since promulgation of dam safety legislation in South Africa. This has also ensured the formal recording of incidents and failures. Not all incidents and failure of especially small dams are however reported to the DSO as required. KEYWORDS Regulation Safety of dams Failure 1348