New report from Energiforsk

Earlier this year, the Swedish organization Energiforsk published the report “Public Safety at Hydropower Facilities – Selection and Design of Measures”, authored by Lisa Carlsson, Anna Risberg, and Ingvill Storøy from Sweco.

The report emphasizes that it is a prerequisite for dam owners to have a well-functioning risk management system in place. This is essential to maintain good safety for people present on or near regulated watercourses and reservoirs. Furthermore, it is important that work on third-party safety is systematically prioritized, including the identification and analysis of traffic patterns, risk assessment, and the selection of appropriate measures.

We at Vassfall fully agree with this. In connection with the preparation of the report, Vassfall’s CEO, Bent Kristian Hasle, was asked to share our views and principles regarding third-party safety.

We recommend reading the article – you can find it here.

Safe Zone

At Vassfall, our principle is that a “safe zone” should be defined, and we always recommend that installations intended for third-party safety be placed within this zone. Just as third parties should be safe behind a fence in front of a hazard, it should be ensured that third parties in canoes, kayaks, or boats are safe when positioned in front of a barrier or marking line.

Photo from the same reservoir as the first photo in this article, but taken from the upstream side of the dam. When in a canoe or kayak on a regulated reservoir, it can be difficult to see that you are approaching a dam with a spillway. The potential hazard is significant, and in this case, the dam owner always installs a marking line on the water surface during the summer months.

The primary purpose of barriers and marking lines is to warn of unsafe zones, such as hazardous water currents and unstable ice. Often, the strength of the water current is not apparent, and a reservoir can appear calm and seem to extend far ahead if it is not marked with barriers, lines, or buoys on the water surface.