Cedar Creek Ws Scs Site 87a Dam

About Cedar Creek Ws Scs Site 87a Dam

The primary purpose of Cedar Creek Ws Scs Site 87a 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 City Of Terrell;kaufman Van Zandt Rockwall Swcd (local government). It impounds the Muddy Cedar Creek near Elmo.

The dam stands 43 feet tall and stretches 4,800 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 840 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 20,147 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 14 square miles. Completed in 1955, 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 06/15/2016. That was 9 years ago, which is on the longer end for a high-hazard structure.

At 43 feet, this dam is taller than 89% 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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