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<br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
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<br />The Colorado Division of Water Resources' Dam Safety Branch's objective is to prevent property damage and
<br />the loss of life, while protecting the loss of water supplies due to the failure of dams in Colorado, The Dam
<br />Safety Program includes the enforcement of a comprehensive set of regulations, policies, and procedures for
<br />the design, construction, and maintenance of dams; the safe operation of reservoirs; and emergency
<br />preparedness planning,
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<br />The Dam Safety Program is managed by the State Engineer in accordance with Title 37, Article 87 of eR.S,
<br />(2002 Supp.) and the Livestock Water Tank Act, Title 35, Article 49 ofC.RS, (2002 Supp,), as amended, The
<br />program is implemented by the State Engineer through the Dam Safety Branch and the Division field offices,
<br />The Branch currently consists of a branch chief, dam safety engineers, and design review engineers,
<br />Currently, the program oversees a total of about 2,900 dams in Colorado with 1,861 dams of jurisdictional
<br />size, Of these, about 1,737 are non-federal dams, Ofthe non-federal dams, approximately 572, or about one-
<br />third ofthe total non-federal dams in Colorado, are classified as dams that. in the event of a failure, would be
<br />expected to cause loss of life and/or significant property damage to a significant portion of the state's
<br />population,
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<br />For FY 02-03. the Dam Safety Program achieved a great number of goals and objectives in the design review
<br />and inspection of dams for the determination of safe water storage levels, Although dam safety incidents were
<br />reported again this year. because of our program, these incidents resulted in reduced consequences with no loss
<br />of life or significant property damage. This is attributed to the increased awareness and responsibility of the
<br />dam owners for their dams - including emergency preparedness planning - and to the enforcement of the
<br />regulations, policies, and procedures by our office,
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<br />During FY 02-03, the State Engineer's Office approved plans for four new dams and thirty-nine plans for
<br />alteration, modification. or enlargement Twelve separate hydrology studies were also approved for
<br />determination of the inflow design flood for spillway design, The estimated cost of construction for the
<br />submitted plans was over $95 million. The increased reservoir storage resulting from the approved new dams
<br />and enlargements is approximately 13,500 acre-feet
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<br />During FY 02-03, a total of 573 dam safety inspections and 233 construction inspections were conducted for a
<br />total of 806 inspections, In addition, 178 follow-up inspections were performed. At the conclusion of the
<br />reporting period. there were 193 dams restricted from full storage due to various structural deficiencies such as
<br />significant leakage, cracking and sliding of embankments, and inadequate spillways, Total storage restricted
<br />was 144,437 acre-feet The restrictions provide risk reduction for the public and environment until the
<br />problems are corrected, Although many dams were repaired and removed from the restricted list within the
<br />last year. a number of dams were also added to the list during the same time period. The change in the
<br />restriction from the same time last year resulted in the same number of dams on the restricted list, however, the
<br />volume of the restrictions increased approximately 15,000 acre-feet The increase in the volume of storage
<br />restriction can be related, at least in part, due to the increased aging of the dam infrastructure within the state.
<br />Approximately half of the dams on the Colorado Division of Water Resources restricted list have been on that
<br />list for ten years or longer,
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<br />The state has been able to acquire and maintain a solid group of experienced professionals, and has adequate
<br />statutes. regulations, policies, and procedures to implement and carry out the program, A recommendation of
<br />the recently published "Report Card on Dam Safety in Colorado" by the American Society of Civil Engineers
<br />was to "support Colorado's presently successful state dam safety program with increased funding levels,"
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<br />The Dam Safety Branch continues to use risk-based tools to help evaluate and prioritize the jurisdictional dams
<br />in Colorado in order to more efficiently and effectively use program resources,
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