On 20 February, at the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, the Spanish Society on Dams and Reservoirs held a conference on the state of dam safety management.
The safe and efficient operation of dams and reservoirs in Spain is affected by a number of general and, unfortunately, well-known problems, such as a lack of staff and resources, compounded by the dismantling of the water administration, difficulty in complying with existing regulations and in agreeing realistic new legislation, and the questionable effectiveness of some emergency plans, among others.
The discussion and debate on several issues proved very rewarding. Speakers included Lafcarr's Managing Director, Ricardo Carreras, alongside José Antonio Remesal Guijarro, Director of Operations for the Tinto, Odiel and Piedras Hydraulic Infrastructure and head of Dam Inspection; Álvaro Paniagua de la Calle, Head of Operations at the Guadiana River Basin Authority; José Ignacio Díaz-Calleja, SEPREM; Javier Romero, Head of Operations at the Guadalquivir River Basin Authority; Arturo Gil García, former Deputy Director of Hydro Generation at Iberdrola; and Ricardo Fernández Cuevas, Auscultación y Taller de Ingeniería.
Reflection and debate on safe dam management continued throughout this interesting day, covering the particular features of dams classed as critical infrastructure, dam emergency and self-protection plans, and Water Commissions, their importance, role and functions, among many other related topics.
In short, this SEPREM conference was very useful for setting down in black and white the shared problems in dam management and operation, particularly those related to safety, with everything that entails as a public service, and the wide range of proposals gathered in a catalogue that we hope will be taken up by those responsible for implementing them before a crisis forces them to do so
