Implementation of Dam Safety Management Program in Malaysia: From Theory to Practice LARIYAH Mohd Sidek 1,a , HIDAYAH Basri 1,b , SIVADASS Thiruchelvam 1,c RAHSIDI Sabri Muda 2,d , AZWIN ZAILTI Abdul Razad 2,e , and ZURAIDAH Ali 1,f 1Centre for Sustainable Technology and Environment, Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Jalan IKRAM – UNITEN, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia 2 TNB Research Sdn. Bhd. No. 1, Lorong Ayer Itam, Kawasan Institusi Penyelidikan, Kajang, 43000, Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia a lariyah@uniten.edu.my, b BHidayah@uniten.edu.my, c sivadass@uniten.edu.my, d rashidi@tnbr.com.my, e azwin@tnbr.com.my, f zue@uniten.edu.my Keywords: dam safety, emergency response plan, water security, risk Abstract. Dam plays vital roles to mankind since the beginning of civilization. It serves the purpose for water supply, irrigation, hydropower and flood control. Despite the benefits of dam served over a decade, dams also poses high risk especially to the people downstream, as it may fail due to several failure modes, such as flood loading, earthquake and piping failure. History proved that dam failure has caused catastrophic impact to the people and environment. The dam owner is responsible to ensure that their dam is safe to the public and environment. In Malaysia, the key utility company, Tenaga Nasional Berhad has proactively played its role as the owner of the largest hydropower scheme by spearheading the effort of developing its own dam safety program. This paper revolves around the journey of TNB in developing an Emergency Response Plan (ERP) as part of their dam safety program. Introduction Dams are often referred to as monolithic hydraulic structures. Made of adequately impermeable materials, dams are built to create a storage compartment known as reservoir at the upstream to store water for various purposes. These hydraulic structures supply raw water to water treatment plants. In some parts of the world, dams are built as a control measure for flood mitigation. In Malaysia, dams contribute to irrigation and flood control mechanisms, on top of its predominant role in generating/ producing hydroelectric energy power source for local consumption. Despite the aforementioned benefits, dams can also impose risks to the public. Once a dam is built, it requires constant maintenance and monitoring, regular safety inspections as well as scheduled rehabilitation in order to ensure its capability to function well. In line with current global awareness of water security, the aspect of dam safety has drawn increasing attention from the public as it constitutes the element of a country’s national security. The consequences of dam failure may involve substantial downstream injury and property damage as well as catastrophic and long-lasting environmental effects [1]. This type of disaster can be devastating for people, community structures, environment, the country’s economy, also the owner’s business. Loss of human life is generally accepted as the most important consequence, therefore it often dominates dam safety decisions [2]. Previous disasters have exhibited that the repercussions of dam failures are directly related to the evacuation time available should failures occur. Thus, dam safety programs are vital to minimize the impacts of dam failure. Also, it is important to ensure that the dam owner and related agencies are ready, and equipped with the necessary knowledge and action plans in the event of dam failure.