Big Sandy Creek Watershed S-17

Big Sandy Creek Watershed S-17 is an earth dam located in El Paso County, Colorado, built in 1959. It carries a Low hazard potential classification.

About Big Sandy Creek Watershed S-17

The primary purpose of Big Sandy Creek Watershed S-17 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 Double El Scd, Board (devin Schinzel, Board Presid (local government). It impounds the Big Sandy Creek-tr near Simla.

The dam stands 40 feet tall and stretches 2,387 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 33 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 536 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 4 square miles. Completed in 1959, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years old.

This dam has a low hazard potential classification, meaning that failure would cause minimal damage, limited primarily to the dam owner's property, with no expected loss of life. The most recent inspection on record was 10/15/2020.

At 40 feet, this dam is taller than 87% of dams nationwide.

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Low HazardNot Rated ConditionEmergency Action Plan: Not Required

Location

StateColorado
CountyEl Paso
Nearest CitySimla
River/StreamBig Sandy Creek-tr
Coordinates39.10862, -104.06307

Physical Characteristics

Dam TypeEarth
NID Height40 ft
Dam Height37 ft
Dam Length2,387 ft
Year Completed1959 (67 years old)

Storage & Hydraulics

NID Storage536 acre-ft
Max Storage536 acre-ft
Normal Storage371 acre-ft
Surface Area33 acres
Drainage Area4 sq mi
Max Discharge7,603 cfs
Spillway TypeNone

Ownership & Safety

PurposeFlood Risk Reduction
OwnerDOUBLE EL SCD, BOARD (DEVIN SCHINZEL, BOARD PRESID
Owner TypeLocal Government
Hazard ClassificationLow
Condition AssessmentNot Rated
Last Inspection10/15/2020
Emergency Action PlanNot Required

Identifiers

NID IDCO00730
Federal IDCO00730
More InfoState Dam Safety Program

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