Railroad Tank Dam

About Railroad Tank Dam

The primary purpose of Railroad Tank Dam is fire protection, stock, or small fish pond. The dam maintains a small impoundment used for fire suppression, livestock watering, or as a fish pond. The dam is owned by Usda Fs (federal). It impounds the Brannigan Park near Pvt Residences.

The dam stands 37 feet tall and stretches 1,000 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 44 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 250 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 40 square miles. Completed in 1900, the structure is over a century old.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam. The most recent inspection on record was 09/10/2020.

At 37 feet, this dam is taller than 84% of dams nationwide.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The Arizona dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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