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<br />The Five Cate2:ories of Dams <br /> <br />1. Jurisdictional Dam. Ajurisdictional dam is a dam that is <br />greater than 10 feet in height to the spillway (See Figure <br />1); or impounds more than 100 acre-feet (AF) of water at <br />the high water line; or impounds a reservoir with a <br />surface area of more than 20 acres at the high water line. <br />In order to construct, repair, alter, or modify such a <br />structure, it is required to have fonnal plans and <br />specifications approved by the State Engineer prior to <br />construction for dams that have the potential for causing <br />loss of life or property damage to others. The plans and <br />specifications must be prepared by a professional engineer <br />registered in Colorado, who is experienced in dam design. <br />Plans are engineering drawings showing the <br />layout and details of the dam. The specifications contain <br />criteria for construction materials and the procedures <br />used to build the dam. <br /> <br />2. Noniurisdictional Dam, A non jurisdictional dam is a dam <br />that is smaller in size than a jurisdictional dam and is not <br />required to have plans approved by the State Engineer. <br />The owner of a nonjurisdictional dam is required to <br />submit a Notice of Intent to Construct an Impoundment <br />Structure (see Applications and Fees). It is recommended <br />that the owner employ persons experienced in dam design <br />or construction to advise them on proper construction <br />techniques, <br /> <br />3, Livestock Water Tank. A Livestock Water Tank (LSwr) <br />is a dam intended to hold water for livestock. A LSwr <br />can only be permitted on a nonnally dry stream, which is <br />a stream that is considered dry 80% of the time. The <br />stored water may not be used for irrigation. The dam <br />cannot be greater than 15 feet from the bottom of the <br />stream channel to the bottom of the spillway measured at <br />the upstream toe, and the dam must also have a <br />minimum of four feet of freeboard. The total maximum <br />height of embankment cannot exceed 19 feet, and the <br />capacity of the reservoir cannot exceed 10 AF, There are <br />standard specifications for construction that are provided <br />with the application fonn which is available from the <br />State Engineer's Office. <br /> <br />2 <br />