A recently completed survey of dams in Rhode Island has quadrupled the number that are considered capable of taking human lives or causing significant economic losses should they fail.

The new total of 205 dams considered to pose significant hazards or high hazards is part of a new set of regulations the state Department of Environmental Management recently put into force.

The survey has nothing to do with the structural integrity of the listed dams, only the potential for disaster should they fail.

More dams are listed because they weren’t properly assessed in the past or because new development has placed more people and property in harm’s way should the dams fail.

“People were always at risk from some of these dams,” says Paul Guglielmino, a DEM dam inspector. “But now they will know it.”

The regulations establish timetables and deadlines for inspecting and repairing dams, particularly those that pose risks to the public. And they are going into effect at the same time that the DEM has intensified its efforts to track down owners of dams that have fallen into disrepair or appear to be abandoned.

Coincidental with the new regulations, the state Emergency Management Agency is following up on a recently enacted state law requiring communities to prepare emergency action plans for each significant or high-hazard dam within their boundaries.

The EMA has prepared guidelines for the emergency response plans and will present them to local officials from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Jan. 23, at the Airport Radisson Hotel in Warwick. (The session will be open to the public. For more information, or reservations, contact Robert Pesapane at Robert.pesapane@us.army.mil or (401) 462-7187.)

Rhode Island’s new dam safety measures are the results of concerns raised during heavy rains in October 2005 that threatened to breach a critical dam in Taunton, Mass. There were earlier warnings too, such as the breach in 1998 of the dam at California Jim’s Pond in South Kingstown that flooded the village of Peace Dale.

Stemming largely from the era in the 18th and 19th century when water powered much of Rhode Island’s industry, some 674 dams remain in place across the state. Most are old and some are in disrepair. Because so many mills and other industries have moved on, ownership of some is questionable.

Dams are so pervasive in Rhode Island, there are only three communities that don’t have dams that pose significant or high hazards. They are Central Falls, Newport and Westerly.

At the same time, Rhode Island was considered to have some of the weakest dam-safety laws in the country.

As a result of the increased concerns, the DEM obtained an $85,000 grant from the U.S. Emergency Management Agency to pay for the mapping of downstream areas that would be affected by dam failures.

Also, the General Assembly enacted a law with Governor Carcieri’s support that authorized the state to step in and repair failing dams, and then charge the owners for the work.

Guglielmino says there are deadlines and goals in the regulations, but they are generous.

DEM is preparing registration forms for the owners of significant and high-hazard dams. (A high-hazard dam is one whose failure would result in a probable loss of human life. A significant-hazard dam is one where a failure could cause major economic losses.)

Owners of high-hazard dams will be required to pay for inspections every two years. Owners of significant-hazard dams will be on a five-year schedule.

Each dam inspection is estimated to cost $2,500 to $3,000, but in a series of hearings and public meetings, Guglielmino said, the DEM heard almost no complaints. No one needs to act until they receive notice from the DEM.

Guglielmino said DEM is preparing a schedule that will stagger the inspections over time.

DEM has hired consultants who will work until the end of March tracking down dam owners.

Only two dams are considered unsafe, said Guglielmino. The Lime Rock Dam in Lincoln and the Blue Pond Dam in Hopkinton need repairs, he said, but the owners are responding and are lowering water levels in the meantime.

A list of dams in Rhode Island that includes their location and classification can be found by going to www.dem.ri.gov, clicking on “Compliance and Inspection” in the box on the lower left of the page, and then clicking on “Dam Inventory.” The new dam regulations are also available on the same page.

plord@projo.com