Reservoir safety in Scotland – The Reservoirs (Scotland) Bill – an overview

The Reservoirs (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish parliament in March 2011. The Bill sets out the requirements for the registration, control and enforcement of reservoir safety in Scotland in the future. This article summarises some of the major differences compared to current legislation. The most significant of these is the move to a risk-based approach to future inspection and supervision, all reservoirs with a minimum retained volume of 10 000 m³ being covered by the Bill requirements. There are also some important changes to the role of the supervising engineer for the reservoir, in the requirements to identify regular maintenance required in the interests of safety, and in the process for monitoring and certification of safety measures. The Bill also introduces new requirements for mandatory incident reporting and for the preparation of on-site emergency plans. The article provides an indicative timescale for phased enactment of the legislation.