Railroad Dam No.1

About Railroad Dam No.1

The primary purpose of Railroad Dam No.1 is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam is owned by City Of Santa Rosa (local government). It impounds the El Rito Creek near Santa Rosa.

The dam stands 25 feet tall and stretches 800 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 53 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 158 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 34 square miles. Completed in 1907, 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. Its condition is rated poor, meaning the dam has recognized safety deficiencies that require remediation to address risks. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam. The most recent inspection on record was 11/18/2015. That was 10 years ago — unusually long for a high-hazard dam, which typically requires more frequent inspections.

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 New Mexico dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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