Infrastructure Safety
Hydropower projects must seek to ensure that life, property and the environment are protected from the consequences of dam failure and other infrastructure safety risks.
While dam safety is one of the most critical infrastructure safety considerations, this topic also has a strong community safety focus and there are a broad range of risks to the community that need to be considered. The requirements and expectations for the developer and owner/operator differ during the life cycle stages - project preparation, implementation and operation.
Understanding good practice
Effective infrastructure safety processes will help a project developer, owner or operator ensure that at each stage of a project’s life cycle risks are avoided, minimised and mitigated and stakeholder confidence is maintained.
International industry good practice in infrastructure safety for hydropower projects is defined in the Hydropower Sustainability Guidelines on Good International Industry Practice (HGIIP).
Assessing project performance
Two assessment tools are available to measure hydropower project performance:
In Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), Infrastructure Safety is addressed in P-8 for the preparation stage, I-5 for the implementation stage and O-6 for the operation stage.
In Hydropower Sustainability ESG Gap Analysis Tool, Infrastructure Safety is addressed in Section 4.
Related topics
