FLOOD03849

• County: Statewide
• Basin: Statewide
• Title: Institute on Legal Issues of Flooding, Urban Drainage and Wetlands
• Date: 3/25/1982
• Prepared For: FEMA
• Prepared By: CWCB
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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8peclfioatl... of eaa11 ....clty ~eHrvoirs
to be ..1... by o~lt.rl~ ~.1at.d to tbe
probabllity tlaat pre:Sitation will be
..ceeded oace In fi.. It r.d year..

~'9r~D"'.. ... C.L'. 1173, 37-17-104 (2)
lI'8l Caa. 'app), limiting liability of
.ploy..., lllaarebo1"n, IIBben of the
board of 'irecto~. of aD owner of a reser-
voir.

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3. "alia.nee. Ioae jari8dictions bave ~ejected the
aoct~ine of ~lana Ya. .l.~eh.r and ..rely
~equire the OWDer of a ~eHrvoir to eaercise
~ea.onable care In tbe oon.t~uction and main-
tenance of a ~eservoi~.

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B. Percolation o~ Seepage

American jurisdictions are split betveen strict
liability and necaligence as tbe standard of liability
for vater e.caping fro. a ~eservoir throucah percola-
tion or ..epacae.

C. Inspection and Design Review

l. Rational Dam Inspection Program. 33 D.S.C. 467.
Section 467e provides tbat nothing In the act
shall be construed to create any liability in the
Dnited States or its officers or employees for
recovery of daaages caused by such action or
failure to act or relieve an owner or operator of
a dam of tbe legal duties, obligations, or
liabilities incident to ownership or operation of
the dam.

2. State dam Hlety inspection programs. In
Colorado, tbe State Ingineer is directed to
annually deter.ine the aaount of water vhich Is
safe to impound in reservoirs vi thin the state.
C.R.S. l,73, 37-87-l07. But such inspection does
not relieve the ovners of reservoirs from
liability. C.R.S. 1973, 37-87-ll3 (l98l Cum.
Supp.).

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VI. PROSPEC'1'S POR DE FOTDU

Continued developaent of the region's re.ources, con-
"tinued population grovth with increa.ed water 'emand and
arbanisation in inundation areas, and the fact that many of
our 'aas are approachinca and exceed Inca tbeir 'esign life, lead
one to predict tbat dam building and dam failures will con-
tinue to occur in tbe Rocky Mountain Region.

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