§ Mr. McLoughlinasked the Secretary of State for the Environment whether he can now indicate the date on which he expects the final report from Mr. Roy Coxon on the future of the Carsington reservoir.
§ Mr. John Patten[pursuant to his reply, 25 June 1986, c. 233–34]: The final report by Mr. R. E. Coxon BSc, DIC, FEng, FICE, FASCE on the failure in 1984 of the Carsington embankment dam is being published today by Her Majesty's Stationery Office and I have placed copies in the Library.
273WMr. Coxon's findings include the following:
The investigation of the failure has been carefully and diligently pursued. The work provides a sound base for use in assessment of the cause and is adequate to establish the data on which remedial works could be confidently based.A satisfactory structure could be built at this site and integrated with the elements of the pevious structure identified to be left in place.In respect of reservoir safety generally, Mr. Coxon's recommendations include the following:
The preparation of design reports should be a fundamental part of the design process. Consideration should he given to their being required as part of the attachments to certification under the Reservoirs Act 1975.Consideration should also be given to centralisation of key records relating to certification and inspection of dams. This could afford rapid identification and onward reference in case of need by others.There is merit in involvement of a Board or Panel of Specialists in projects of this kind to review key elements relevant to design and construction, although such a board could in no way relieve other parties of their normal responsibilities.Mr. Coxon's report is comprehensive and contains detailed summaries of technical investigations carried out by the separate parties involved. His has been a complex and time-consuming task, and he is to be congratulated upon the efficient way in which he has carried it out.
I accept Mr. Coxon's conclusions that there is an adequate technical explanation of the reasons for the failure, and that a replacement embankment could be designed and safely constructed on the Carsington site using locally available materials. It is now for the Severn-Trent water authority to decide, in the light of Mr. Coxon's report, what action should be taken.
I shall study carefully Mr. Coxon's recommendations on reservoir safety generally.