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This guidance is for supervising engineers. You should follow this guidance when writing a written statement or a site visit report.

Owners and operators of high-risk reservoirs must appoint a competent engineer to supervise it at all times. They must appoint a supervising engineer if a construction engineer is not supervising it. This is a requirement of the Reservoirs Act 1975 (the act).

Part of your role as a supervising engineer is to provide advice to the owner or operator to help them keep their reservoir safe and compliant with the act.

You should use written statements and site visit reports to tell owners and operators and the Environment Agency:

• about anything which might affect the safety of the reservoir
• whether statutory records including the Prescribed Form of Record (PFR) are up to date
• if there has been a breach of the act

Further guidance on the role and duties of supervising engineers can be found in Institution of Civil Engineers (2014) A Guide to the Reservoirs Act 1975, Second edition. ICE Publishing.

Written statements

Written statements should clearly communicate:

• apparent or possible changes to the physical condition or operation of safety-critical reservoir structures, informed by visual observations, surveys and monitoring data
• apparent or likely changes in the threats to reservoir safety and any actual or impending changes in consequential risks associated with the reservoir breach
• any breach of the act
• progress on delivering measures in the interest of safety (MIOS) and statutory maintenance
• clear actions on what the owner or operator must do to remain compliant with the act
• the priority, timescales and reasons for taking actions

When to do a written statement

You must provide the owner or operator with written statements:

• at least once in any calendar year about matters that need to be watched these are listed in the annex of the final certificate or section 10(4) of the latest inspecting engineers report
• at least once every 12 months with details of any steps taken to maintain the reservoir as recommended in section 10(3)(b) of the latest inspecting engineers report

These are 2 separate legal requirements under section 12(2), and 12(2A) of the act. You can combine both written statements into a single document or do each one separately. State which of these sections of the act apply at the front of each statement.

In practice, most supervising engineers opt to provide the owner or operator with a combined written statement at least every 12 months.

You must send written statements to the owner or operator of the reservoir and the enforcement authority. For reservoirs located in England the enforcement authority is the Environment Agency.

What to include in your written statement

A combined written statement should include:

• a reservoir compliance summary
• a completed written statement template
• a summary action list
• any site visit reports since the date of the last written statement - attach as appendices

Complete the reservoir compliance summary

It is good practice to put a reservoir compliance summary at the front of your written statement. The summary should highlight the areas that do not comply with the act to help the owner or operator and the Environment Agency.

Include the questions in the reservoir compliance summary questions template, as a table or text. If any of your answers are no refer to the section of the written statement that gives more details. Use text or colour coding to make the status clear to the owner or operator and theEnvironment Agency.

Some reservoir owners and operators will have their own preferred reservoir compliance summary format for supervising engineers to follow.

Record any actions needed to make sure the reservoir remains compliant with the act in a summary action list.

Reservoir compliance summary questions template

Is the supervising engineer satisfied with the reservoirs safety and does not need to recommend an early inspection? Section 12(3) of the act refers. See section 2.5.4 of the written statement.

Is the supervising engineer satisfied with the reservoirs safety and does not need to direct (legally compel) the owner or operator to carry out visual inspections? Section 12(6) of the act refers. See section 2.6of the written statement.

Is the supervising engineer satisfied with the progress of carrying out measures in the interest of safety (MIOS)? Section 10(3)(c) of the act refers. See section 2.5.2of the written statement.

Is the supervising engineer satisfied that all matters to be watched (legally required to check) are in compliance with the construction or inspecting engineers instructions? Section 12(2) of the act refers. See section 2.3of the written statement.

Is the owner or operator compliant with their duties for monitoring, surveillance and record keeping? Sections 6, 9 and 11 of the act refer. See section 2.4of the written statement.

Has the owner or operator satisfactorily completed any statutory maintenance recommendations? Section 12(2A) of the act refers. See section 2.2of the written statement.

Does the owner or operator have a certified, up to dateand satisfactory on-siteemergencyfloodplan? Section 12AA of the act refers. See section 2.7of the written statement.

Complete a written statement template

This section provides a template of section headings for your written statement. It also gives some advice on completing it and things you need to consider.

Although considered good practice, it is not a legal requirement to follow this format. Some reservoir owners and operators will have their own preferred template for supervising engineers to use.

1. General information

1.1 Reservoir name

This should exactly match the registered name given in the Prescribed Form of Record (PFR). Note also any local names used for the reservoir.

1.2Reservoir location

Include the postcode and National Grid reference.

1.3Name and address of undertakers (owners and operators)

Include the following contact details:

• name and address of the undertaker as registered with the Environment Agency
• name of the person responsible for reservoir safety
• name of the person to issue the written statement to (if different)
• other people to distribute the written statement to

The undertaker (owner or operator) should tell you who to report to and who to escalate outstanding matters to. This should be the individual responsible for reservoir safety.

In larger organisations, this should be the person responsible for corporate safety at director level (or equivalent). In the case of single owners, clubs or small companies, this should be the owner (or equivalent).

1.4 Name and address of supervising engineer

1.5Alternative supervising engineer contact details

Include the details of the stand-in supervising engineer. The owner or operator may contact them with concerns when the supervising engineer is unavailable for short-term periods.

1.6Name of last inspecting engineer or construction engineer

2. Status and findings

2.1 Construction engineers requirements in relation to section 6(2) to 6(4) or 9(2)

This relates to new reservoirs or re-use of abandoned reservoirs.

Note any specific requirements from the construction engineers final certificate that the owner or operator must adhere to. Use sub-headings in this section, if required.

Include any matters to be watched by?the supervising engineer from the final certificate. Highlight any special requirements or matters that need to be watched that are complete or outstanding. Use text or colour coding to make this clear to the owner or operator and the Environment Agency.

2.2Statement under section 12(2A) on the directions given for maintenance of the reservoir under section 10(3)(b) (statutory maintenance)

You must include details of any steps that the owner or operator has taken to complete statutory maintenance.

For each statutory maintenance item you should:

• state whether the owner or operator has followed the inspecting engineers instructions - use text or colour coding to make this clear to the owner or operator and the Environment Agency
• include the status of the direction is it complete or ongoing?
• comment, if necessary, on the actions taken or not by the owner or operator
• consider its current condition is it stable, deteriorated or improved since it was last examined

Discuss the reasons for any non-compliance with the owner or operator and include these in your statement.

For outstanding maintenance directions consider directing the owner or operator to carry out visual i

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