Click here to learn about the Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund, which was recently authorized to provide funding for qualified dam rehabilitation, dam break inundation zone mapping and floodplain projects proposed by local governments and private entities.
Purpose - The program's purpose is to provide for safe design, construction, operation and maintenance of dams to protect public safety.
Authority - The Virginia Dam Safety Act, Article 2, Chapter 6, Title 10.1 (10.1-604 et seq) of the Code of Virginia and Dam Safety Regulations established by the Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Board (VS&WCB). Click here for current dam safety regulations (PDF).
Permit Requirements - No person or entity shall construct, begin to construct, alter or begin to alter an impounding structure until the VS&WCB has issued a construction permit.
Which dams are subject to the law? All dams in Virginia are subject to the Dam Safety Act unless specifically excluded. A dam may be excluded if it:
The height of a dam is defined as the vertical distance from the streambed at the downstream toe to the top of the dam.
The capacity of a dam is defined as the volume capable of being impounded at the top of the dam.
Hazard Classification of Dams - Dams are classified with a hazard potential depending upon the downstream losses anticipated in event of failure. Hazard potential is not related to the structural integrity of a dam but strictly to the potential for adverse downstream effects if the dam were to fail.
Click here to learn more about dam classification.
Certificates - The owner of each regulated Class I, II or III dam is required to apply to the Soil and Water Conservation Board for an operation and maintenance certificate. The application must include an assessment of the dam by a licensed professional engineer along with an operation and maintenance plan and an emergency action plan. The emergency action plan is filed with the appropriate local emergency official and the Department of Emergency Services.
The board issues certificates to the owner for a period of six years. If a dam has some deficiency but does not pose imminent danger, the board may issue a two-year conditional certificate during which time the owner is to correct the deficiency.
After a dam is certified by the board, periodic inspections by an engineer are required at the following frequency:
In addition the owner must inspect the dam in those years when an engineer's inspection is not required.
Certificates are not required for Class IV dams, but the owner must file an inventory report each six years and an inspection report each year. Each owner is fully responsible for the safety of his or her dam and is expected to keep it in a safe operating condition. Permits are issued by the board for construction of new dams and alterations to existing dams.
Examples of exempt dams - Suppose a dam is 24 feet high and has a capacity of 36 acre-feet. The dam is exempt because its capacity is less than 50 acre-feet.
A dam used primarily for agricultural purposes is 28 feet high and has a capacity of 78 acre-feet. This dam is exempt because it is used primarily for agricultural purposes and its capacity is less than 100 acre-feet.
A dam is 5 feet high, surrounds a constructed wetland and has an impounding capacity of 125 acre-feet. This dam is exempt because its height is less than 6 feet.
Forms - Click here to for a list of forms related to state dam safety programs.
Contact DCR's Dam Safety Program staff at (804) 371-6095 or EMail dam@dcr.virginia.gov.
Did you know?
Direct costs of floods
Indirect costs of floods
Virginia's Floodplain Management Program
I-64 eastbound lanes flooded near Newport News following Hurricane Floyd in 1999.To address such problems, Virginia's General Assembly enacted the Virginia Flood Damage Reduction Act of 1989. This legislation was the result of several disastrous floods or coastal storms that hit the state between 1969 and 1985. To improve Virginia's flood protection programs and place related programs in one agency, responsibility for coordination of all state floodplain programs was transferred in 1987 from the Water Control Board to DCR. DCR was named manager of the state's floodplain program and designated coordinating agency of the National Flood Insurance Program under the act, §10.1-602,(PDF, 37k) and a governor's memorandum (PDF) released in July 1997.
Debris from Franklin's businesses following Hurricane Floyd's visit.Floodplain Management Program staff works with localities to establish and enforce floodplain management zoning. Localities use the program's state model ordinances, in which minimum standards for local regulations are set, to write their own. (Please contact DCR staff to obtain the model ordinances.) Local governments can set more restrictive standards to ensure higher levels of protection for residents in flood hazard areas. Also, the state has used the Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code to set construction standards for structures built in Federal Emergency Management Agency designated flood hazard areas.
Floodplain zoning regulates how development is allowed within floodplains. The program's main goal is to protect people and their property from unwise floodplain development. It also protects society from costs associated with developed floodplains.
Floodplain management links
Floodplain Managment Program contacts
Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund
In cooperation with the Virginia Resources Authority, DCR administers the Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund, which was established by §10.1-603.16 et seq. of the Code of Virginia. Pursuant to the code, the fund enables loans and grants for qualified dam rehabilitation, dam break inundation zone mapping, and floodplain mitigation and reduction projects that are proposed by local governments and private entities. Prior to final approval, all funding will be awarded on a competitive scoring basis, and all qualifying loan applicants must undergo a financial capability analysis by the Virginia Resources Authority.
An initial loan round begins Dec. 1, 2007, with applications due by Feb. 1, 2008. DCR will announce prior to Dec. 1, 2007, details about project categories eligible for loan funding as well as funding amounts for each category. Those who apply will be considered based on criteria contained in the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund Loan and Grant Manual (PDF) and loan underwriting requirements of the Virginia Resources Authority.
