Emergency Preparedness: Colorado High-Hazard Dam Release
The Takeaways
Colorado has many high-hazard dams across the state.
To identify and prioritize alternative floodplain mitigation and emergency preparedness solutions, Colorado Dam Safety developed the Colorado High-Hazard Dam Release - Downstream Floodplain Impacts Database and Ranking Tool.
As potential problem areas are identified, programs can be developed to disseminate potential hazard information to those responsible for infrastructure development, community awareness, and resiliency planning.
The Case Study
Dams provide essential services that are often unseen to many: storing water for household use; irrigation; energy production; recreation; and minimizing flooding impacts. However, large amounts of water may be released even when dams are functioning properly due to intense rainfall, rapid snowmelt, or other unanticipated circumstances. This can result in flooding to downstream communities. Recent flooding events in Colorado in 2013 and 2015, and nationwide in 2017, have highlighted how excessive reservoir inflows (the amount of water entering a reservoir) can impact dam spillways flows (flows designed to control the release of water to protect dam structures and prevent overtopping).
Although all high-hazard dams in Colorado have dam failure inundation maps to outline flooding limits for dam failures, no mapping exists for the range of releases that might be anticipated to occur during flooding events. Providing emergency managers and floodplain managers with the tools to assess a range of scenarios from dam releases would enable them to begin addressing the risks certain areas face from such failures. To identify and prioritize alternative floodplain mitigation and emergency preparedness solutions, Colorado Dam Safety (CDS) needed to better understand where communities are at risk from dam releases. To address this need, the project team developed the Colorado High-Hazard Dam Release - Downstream Floodplain Impacts Database and Ranking Tool. The tool can be used to support public awareness, planning, and emergency preparedness activities, as well as during emergency response situations involving high hazard dams throughout Colorado.
The project plans to fully deploy the tool to public agencies responsible for floodplain management and emergency response to flooding. The rankings can enable agencies to set priorities for future detailed studies of safe channel capacity, quantify controlled and uncontrolled release capabilities and impacts, and develop mitigation and preparedness strategies. As potential problem areas are identified, programs can be developed to disseminate potential hazard information to those responsible for infrastructure development, community awareness, and resiliency planning.
Want more information?
Check out the online mapping tool.
Visit CO Dam Safety’s website.