Dry Devils And Lowrey Ws Scs Site 13 Dam

About Dry Devils And Lowrey Ws Scs Site 13 Dam

The primary purpose of Dry Devils And Lowrey Ws Scs Site 13 Dam is flood risk reduction. The dam is designed to control downstream flooding by temporarily storing excess water during storms and releasing it at a controlled rate. The dam is owned by Edwards Plateau Swcd;sutton County (local government). It impounds the Tr-dry Devils River near Sonora.

The dam stands 32 feet tall and stretches 1,400 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 21 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 659 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1959, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years 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. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 11/13/2018. That was 7 years ago, which is on the longer end for a high-hazard structure.

At 32 feet, this dam is taller than 76% 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 Texas dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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