Welcome to the fourth and final issue of 2020.
This issue is a special edition featuring a selection of papers relating to the spillway failure at Toddbrook reservoir in August 2019, and the important reservoir safety developments that have occurred in our industry since that incident. If you would like to provide any discussion on the papers included in this issue, or previous issues, please email the editor.
Message from the BDS Chair
Events such as the Toddbrook incident thankfully occur very infrequently. When they do, we have a collective responsibility to learn all that we can about the many factors that led to the incident and the many factors that led to the successful emergency response. Lessons can be learned at a human, corporate and/or industry level. The government has decided to cast the net wider and to consider whether improvements to the way reservoir safety is governed could bring benefits going forward. The BDS welcomes the in-depth review being carried out by Professor David Balmforth. His review, together with other evidence from research and industry consultation, is likely to bring about changes in the near future to how reservoir safety is managed in England. In this special issue of Dams and Reservoirs we report on the Seminar that was held in July which reported on the incident development, the emergency response and the investigations into the cause of the incident. We also include an article to document your questions and answers. I strongly encourage you to read Peter Mason's article on the technical aspects of the incident which provides more detail than he was able to provide within the limitations of his seminar presentation.
Alan Warren
Future content for the journal
We are currently looking for articles for our 2021 editions. As always we rely on our members to provide good quality and informative content for the journal, so please continue to support our journal with interesting and thought provoking articles. We request that our readership highlight topics and schemes that they think would be of interest to the wider readership and contact the editor with a proposed title or subject in the first instance. Please note that our editorial panel are on hand to provide mentoring and guidance in preparation of papers, should you require.
The deadlines to receive articles, including technical papers, discussion pieces and case studies for volume 31 of the Journal are as follows.
Volume 31, Issue 2: 28th February 2021
Volume 31, Issue 3: 31st May 2021
Volume 31, Issue 4: 15th September 2021
At times we receive interesting papers, which we would like to publish, but due to their length or complexity are not suitable for publishing in the hard copy of our Journal. In these instances the papers are still available online for readers to peruse. Please also note that articles are available online in advance of being published in the hard copy of our Journal, so it is always a good idea to check the Journal online to keep up to date with recent developments in our industry.
We are currently exploring opportunities to offer the Dams and Reservoir Journal as a digital only version, whilst retaining a paper version for those that wish to receive the journal in its original form. This will be confirmed during 2020 and our readership given the opportunity to confirm the format they prefer to receive.
eNewsletters
Do not forget to sign up for news and emails on the BDS website so you stay up to date on the monthly eNewsletters and please let us know if you have any news or announcements related to dams and reservoirs, which you would like to share with BDS members in the next eNewsletter.
