Water Retaining Facilities Act (WRFA)
English is not an official language of the Swiss Confederation. This translation is provided for information purposes only and has no legal force.
Art. 1 Purpose
This Act regulates the safety of water retaining facilities and liability for damage caused by the release of water from water retaining facilities.
Art. 2 Scope
1 This Act applies to water retaining facilities which meet the following specifications: a. the storage height above the low-water level of the reservoir or above ground level is at least 10 metres; b. the storage height is at least 5 metres and the reservoir has a storage capacity of more than 50,000 cubic metres. 2 The federal supervisory authority (Art. 22) may: a. declare water retaining facilities that are smaller than specified above to be subject to this Act if they have a particular risk potential; b. exclude water retaining facilities from the scope of this Act if it is demonstrated that they do not have a particular risk potential.
Art. 3 Definitions
1 Water retaining facilities are installations designed to dam or store water or mud. They are also structures intended to retain sediment, ice and snow or for the temporary retention of water (retention basins). 2 Large water retaining facilities are installations: a. with a storage height of at least 25 metres; b. with a storage height of more than 15 metres and a storage capacity of more than 50,000 cubic metres; c. with a storage height of more than 10 metres and a storage capacity of more than 100,000 cubic metres; d. with a storage capacity of more than 500,000 cubic metres.
Art. 4 Water retaining facilities on bodies of water bordering neighbouring countries
1 For water retaining facilities on bodies of water bordering neighbouring countries, the Federal Council may stipulate special provisions or agree special provisions with the neighbouring countries. 2 For this purpose, the Federal Council may deviate from the provisions on the applicable legislation and place of jurisdiction specified in federal legislation or international treaties.