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<br />3.3 Safety Inspections and Construction Observations <br /> <br />The statutes specify that a dam safety inspection must include the review of previous inspection <br />reports and drawings, site inspection of the dam, spillways, outlet facilities, seepage control and <br />measurement system, and permanent monument or monitoring installations. The dam safety <br />inspection also includes an evaluation of the adequacy of the spillway to pass the appropriate <br />sized flood for the dams' size and hazard class, an evaluation of the dam's hazard classification <br />and whether it has changed, and an assessment of the adequacy of the Emergency Preparedness <br />Plan for the dam. The internal inspection of the outlet works and an evaluation of <br />instrumentation has also been added to the workload as required by the regulations. The <br />hydrologic evaluation of spillways on dams located above elevation 7,500 feet has been <br />postponed, pending the completion of a study of extreme precipitation by the State Engineer and <br />the CWCB as discussed in Section 4.1 of this report. <br /> <br />The findings of the dam safety inspection are documented in a report that rates the conditions <br />observed of the several components of the dam and reservoir. The overall conditions are rated as <br />satisfactory, conditionally satisfactory, or unsatisfactory (unsafe) for full storage and a <br />recommendation is made for the safe storage level by the dam safety engineer. The report also <br />identifies the several repair and maintenance items that the owner should take care of and any <br />engineering and monitoring requirements that are deemed necessary to assure the safety of the <br />dam. A copy of the Engineers Inspection Report is included in Appendix D. <br /> <br />Procedures have been implemented to begin reporting incidents and the findings of dam safety <br />inspections where orders have been issued to make modifications for safety reasons. Incidents <br />are reported to the Center for the Performance of Dams at Stanford University, in Palo Alto, <br />California. This is a national program that has been developed by the Association of State Dam <br />Safety Officials and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the accumulation of data <br />for the improvement of design and safety evaluations of dams nationwide. <br /> <br />Orders to repair or maintain the dam usually require the re-inspection of the dam in order to <br />verify that the work has been done in an acceptable manner. Re-inspections also occur to assure <br />follow-up of the State Engineer's orders or as requested by the owner. If the dam safety <br />inspection finds that the overall conditions are unsafe, an order is written by the State Engineer <br />restricting the storage of the reservoir to a safe level. Restriction letters are accompanied by <br />orders to rehabilitate the dam to make it safe for full storage or to breach the dam. In the event <br />the owner fails to comply with an order to make the dam safe, a breach order is issued to remove <br />the hazard created by the dam and reservoir. If the findings are conditionally satisfactory, full <br />storage is recommended contingent on appropriate monitoring being provided by the owner. <br /> <br />Construction inspections are important to assure that the approved plans are being followed and <br />to assure changed conditions during construction does not jeopardize the safety of the design. <br />The site visits are preceded by a review of the file and history of performance, coordination with <br />the owner, division staff, and other interested parties so they may take part in the inspection. <br /> <br />The dam safety engineers collectively conduct about 800 to 900 dam safety and construction <br />inspections each year. Jurisdictional dams identified for inspection in accordance with the <br /> <br />10 <br />