Purpose - The Program's
purpose is to provide for a safe design, construction,
operation and maintenance of the dams to protect public
safety.
Authority - The Puerto
Rico Dam Safety
Act 207. The Dam Safety and Security Act of 2002 (Public
Law 107-310).
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Puerto Rico Dam |
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¿Which
dams are subject to the law?
All dams in Puerto Rico are
subject to the Dam Safety Act.
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“Any artificial barrier,
including appurtenant works, which impounds or diverts
water, and which:
1) Is 25’ or more in height from the natural bed of the
watercourse, measured at the downstream toe, or
2) Has an impounding capacity at the maximum water storage
elevation of 50 acre-feet or more.”
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National Inventory of Dams |
Dams Under State Regulation |
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35 |
35 |
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The height of a dam is defined
as the vertical distance from the streambed at the
downstream toe to the top of the dam.
The capacity of a dam is defined as the volume capable of
being impounded at the top of the dam.
Hazard Classification of Dams
- Dams are classified with a hazard potential depending upon
the downstream losses anticipated in event of failure.
Hazard potential is not related to the structural integrity
of a dam but strictly to the potential for adverse
downstream effects if the dam were to fail.
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Hazard
Classification |
Property Damage |
Potential Loss
of Life |
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LOW |
Minimal |
None |
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SIGNIFICANT |
Appreciable |
Unlikely |
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HIGH |
Excessive |
Likely |
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Dams are classified by the
hazard they represent to downstream life and property, if
they were to fail. The classification does not indicate the
state of disrepair or the likelihood of failure.
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