A fatality and a serious injury have prompted warnings about dam safety.
Victoria has about 450,000 dams, the State Government said, many of which are on farms and private properties and have been significantly impacted by a lack of rainfall this year.
The soil around dry dams can be prone to collapse, particularly when digging or using machinery.
A man aged in his twenties died last month when he became buried at the base of a dry dam at a property in East Gippsland.
It’s believed he was excavating a trench at the base of the dam when it collapsed on him.
A farmer in his seventies was injured after his tractor rolled while he was working on a dam at Mt Moriac on Saturday 27 April.
“Safety around dams is so important, even surfaces that look hard can be soft underneath and may give way under the weight of machinery, causing it to tip or roll,” Workplace Safety Minister Jill Hennessy said.
WorkSafe health and safety executive director Julie Nielsen said farmers and contractors often used dry periods to carry out maintenance and repairs on dams.
She said they still needed to consider safety before they started work.
“Even much-needed rain won’t reduce the risk,” Ms Nielsen said.
“The fact that farmers and contractors often work alone in areas that have poor mobile phone coverage compounds this risk.”
To reduce the risks, farmers and contractors should identify unstable ground before starting work; only use equipment they are competent with and only use it within its operating range; avoid driving machinery over slopes and embankments; ensure a hard stand area for excavators is stable and not undermined by vermin; seek assistance when recovering bogged equipment and/or animals; ensure they have access to a means of communication; and avoid working alone.
