Public safety at low head dams is becoming an increasingly important issue as the population of Colorado increases and citizens recreate more and more on waterways within the state. Efforts such as the low head dam inventory are currently underway to better identify the hazards, educate the recreating public and reduce fatalities and injuries at and around these structures.
The Colorado Low Head Dams inventory includes location information for engineered structures in main stem rivers and their major tributaries. Since the inventory does not include structures on all rivers, it should not be considered an all-inclusive list of all the hazardous structures that may exist.
Structures within the inventory are categorized according to physical attributes and purpose. The three categories are: Diversion structures, grade control structures and recreational structures. Some of the structures have multiple uses.