Dam safety education in SEQ Aimee Tutticci, Senior Community Relations Advisor, Seqwater Oroville Dam crisis Evacuate! This is not a drill. 3 The human response Top reasons for non-evacuation 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Stayed behind to protect property Did not think it would flood Other e.g. traffic congestion Source: Warnings and the human response in the Oroville Dam crisis (Abstract). 2018. US Society of Dams. 4 US dam safety education Many Americans are unaware they are living downstream of a dam. Dam Safety in the United States – A Progress Report on the National Dam Safety Program (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2014) Source: Dam Safety in the United States. A Progress Report on the National Dam Safety Program. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), 2014 5 Community knowledge of how dams work Key findings • Some participants couldn’t identify if they lived downstream of a gated or un-gated dam • Lack of knowledge about operational differences between gated and un-gated dams • Lack of geographical awareness of position in relation to dam and dam catchment areas Source: Seqwater Dam Release Communications. Enhancing Messaging Effectiveness. Queensland University of Technology. 2016. 6 Emergency Action Plan (EAP) Source: Federal Guidelines For Dam Safety Risk Management, 2015, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 7 Who needs to know? 8 Population at risk 9 SEQ Water Grid 10 So why do we need to educate? Duty of care Social Industry responsibility expectations Government policy 11 Seqwater’s Dam Improvement Program 1979 2006 Enoggera Hinze Stage 3 2006 1998 Lake Wappa Manchester 1999 2007 North Pine Borumba Dam Saddle Dams 2002 2012 Ewen Maddock Gold Creek Stage 1 2003 2014 Maroon Wivenhoe and Moogerah Stage 1 Stage 1 12 Education and engagement opportunities Seqwater Seqwater Shared responsibility Educate Engage Motivate Dam operations and Steps to assess and Protective actions safety risks mitigate dam risks around dam safety Build Build engaged Build resilient knowledgeable communities communities communities 13 Case study: Leslie Harrison Dam Not so calm waters The objectives 1. Increase awareness of 2. Prepare the communities the dam safety risks and living upstream and Seqwater’s responsibilities downstream of the dam to as a dam owner and bulk participate in future project water supplier. planning engagement. 16 Community tours 18 Storytelling Dam Flood safety mitigation risks Water Dam source operations protection The Future History water dam supply 19 Bring in the experts Trust the chief How dams work Just like cars Dam safety education lessons learned • Don’t wait to educate • Target and tailor to upstream and downstream • Human connection critical to building trust Questions?.