Learning from reservoir incidents – a summary of the causes and management of incidents in the UK

A system of post-incident reporting has been administered by the Environment Agency since 2007. Mandatory reporting of incidents at large raised reservoirs in England became a legal requirement in 2013. This paper summarises the Environment Agency’s experience to date with voluntary and mandatory reporting. It explains how post-incident reporting has helped inform opinion on reservoir safety management and guide related research requirements. It discusses how the capturing of evidence on how incidents can inform research and best practice and how devolution may have an impact on the national provisions for capturing information on incidents.