Water Resources Program

1
Water Resources Program

• Ecology GMAP
• Performance Review
• Dam Safety
• August 24 , 2005 EPMT

2
Water Work

• 1. Sustain Water Resources So Water Remains
  Available For Current Future Needs
• Assess, set help achieve instream flows
• Support local watershed management of water
  resources
• Promote compliance with water law
• Support water use efficiency
• Provide water resources data information
• 2. Allocate Water To Meet Needs While
  Protecting The Environment Existing Water Users
  
• Manage water rights - process water rights
  applications / manage rights
• Support water rights adjudication
• Prepare respond to drought climate change
• 3. Protect Public And Environmental Health And
  Safety By Ensuring That Wells And Dams Are Safe
• Assure dam safety
• Regulate well construction

3
Dam Safety

• Authority
• Insofar as necessary to assure safety to life and
  property, the director shall inspect the
  construction of all dams and may require such
  necessary changes in the construction and
  maintenance of said works, to be made from time
  to time, as will reasonably secure safety to life
  and property
• RCW 43.21A.064 (2)

• Work
• Inspect dams for structural, flood earthquake
  safety
• Review new construction plans modification
  plans inspect onsite construction
• Take emergency compliance actions
• Support federal state homeland security efforts
• Reduce incident response time
• Support water storage efforts

4
Responsibility / Market Share

• 1,067 dams in WA
• Federally owned operated 69
• FERC licensed privately inspected 58
• Ecology sole responsibility 940

5
Applying Risk Based Mgt. Approach

• 140 high hazard dams 5 year inspection cycle -
  28 inspections/year
• 200 significant hazard 10 year inspection cycle
  20 inspections/year
• 600 low hazard dams no cycle, only as requested
  by owner public - up to 5 annually

6
Dams Inspected
Nisqually Quake

• Increasing number of high hazard dams
• Requires increasing inspection services
• Drives staffing need
• Drives revenue need
• Results in legislative fee increase
• Drives need for accountability measure
• 5 year inspection cycle - 28 inspections/year
• National standard program performance measure

Added Engineer
Added Engineer
FEMA Project Engineer Left
7
Gap Between Deficiencies Fixes
High Significant Hazard Dams

• Narrowing gap between deficiencies fixes
• Gap now stable 10
• Wont get to zero
• Adding more dams
• Inspections work to identify new problems
• Lag between identifying problem fix

8
Staff to Match Risk Need

• 7 Staff
• Geotechnical
• Structural
• Hydraulic
• One new regional closer to action
• Plus
• Pipe crawling robotic camera (WMS 2?)

• Trends
• More plan reviews for new dams fixes to aging
  inventory
• More seismic issues
• More homeland security
• More storage study support

9
Questions?