Nelson

Nelson is an earth dam located in Douglas County, Colorado, built in 1953. It carries a Low hazard potential classification.

About Nelson

The primary purpose of Nelson is irrigation. The dam stores and diverts water for agricultural irrigation, supporting farming operations in the surrounding area. The dam is owned by Split Rail Fence (barenberg, Tom) (private). It impounds the Rainbow Creek near Louviers.

The dam stands 30 feet tall and stretches 164 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 1 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 22 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1953, 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 07/19/2007. That was over 18 years ago.

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Low HazardNot Rated ConditionEmergency Action Plan: Not Required

Location

StateColorado
CountyDouglas
Nearest CityLouviers
River/StreamRainbow Creek
Coordinates39.41000, -105.04223

Physical Characteristics

Dam TypeEarth
NID Height30 ft
Dam Height30 ft
Dam Length164 ft
Year Completed1953 (73 years old)

Storage & Hydraulics

NID Storage22 acre-ft
Max Storage22 acre-ft
Normal Storage6 acre-ft
Surface Area1 acres
Drainage Area1 sq mi
Max Discharge177 cfs
Spillway TypeNone

Ownership & Safety

PurposeIrrigation
OwnerSPLIT RAIL FENCE (BARENBERG, TOM)
Owner TypePrivate
Hazard ClassificationLow
Condition AssessmentNot Rated
Last Inspection07/19/2007
Emergency Action PlanNot Required

Identifiers

NID IDCO01303
Federal IDCO01303
More InfoState Dam Safety Program

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