Entura’s Paul Southcott to lead new ANCOLD dam monitoring working group

Entura’s Senior Principal – Dams and Headworks, Paul Southcott, has been appointed Convenor of the Australian National Committee on Large Dams’ (ANCOLD) newly formed Guidelines for Dam Instrumentation and Monitoring Systems Working Group.

The group will develop updated ANCOLD guidance on dam instrumentation and monitoring. Southcott will oversee the initial planning and development, establish the framework for the guidelines, and lead the work through to publication.

“With nearly four decades of experience in civil and dam engineering, Paul will bring an exceptional depth of technical knowledge and extensive industry experience to this role,” said Dr Amanda Ashworth, Entura’s Managing Director. “We are very proud to see Paul appointed to this role and given the opportunity to share his profound knowledge with colleagues across the Australian dams industry.”

Southcott said: “ANCOLD plays a crucial role in facilitating knowledge sharing, building the capability of dams professionals, and formulating the industry guidance that advances excellence in technical practice and management of dams. I’m excited to guide the Working Group so that together we can make a meaningful contribution to the long-term safety and sustainability of Australia’s dams, many of which are truly intergenerational assets.

“Thanks to robust dam safety standards and ANCOLD’s guidance, dam catastrophes are rare in Australia; however, safety must remain every dam owner’s key concern,” he added. “Ensuring that dams have the appropriate instrumentation and monitoring for their potential failure modes is fundamental for keeping dams safe. It is also a key input into keeping all the components of the dam operating as intended and achieving their intended lifespan.”

Paul Southcott has contributed to dam upgrade and safety works for Hydro Tasmania’s and TasWater’s dam portfolios, as well as projects for Snowy Hydro, SeqWater, Sun Water, SAWater, and other councils and water utilities in Australia and the Indo-Pacific region.

He was named Tasmania’s Professional Engineer of the Year in Engineers Australia’s 2021 Engineering Excellence Awards. He has written extensively on dam safety and engineering, including articles on dam inspection and maintenance, business risks of small dams, maintaining long-term records, portfolio risk assessment, and using risk assessment to guide upgrades.