The Lawn Lake Dam Failure: A Devastating Colorado Disaster
The United States has built dams all over the country. These dams provide water to much-needed communities, supply power to massive cities, and give recreational access to adventurous Americans.
I'm not a huge fan of all the damn dams in this country. I understand their importance. I really do. BUT! Some of them have destroyed natural habitats. Wiped out entire town --that we're probably dying anyway, but still. And have caused damage upon failure.
Read More: How Likely is Colorado to Have a Major Earthquake?
Yea, yea, we have to weigh the good and the bad. Dams are here to stay, mostly.
Colorado's Lawn Lake Damn + Its Damaging Demise
High in the Colorado mountains, in what is now the Rocky Mountain National Park lies a manmade lake known as Lawn Lake. At 11,000 feet, Lawn Lake was created in 1903 from an earthfill dam to provide farmers in Loveland with much-needed irrigation water.
Over time, the service road to access the high-elevation lake just stopped existing. That led to fewer and fewer inspections, which led to diminishing repairs. Failure was inevitable.
Ultimately, the dam failed on July 15, 1982, around 6 in the morning. The failure released 30 million cubic feet of water instantly, killing three people who were camping in Rocky Mountain National Park, causing 31 million dollars in Estes Park and other small towns.
The Colorado State Engineer concluded that deterioration around a valve eroded over time, leading to the failure of the dam.
Changing Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park's Landscape Forever
After the dam collapsed, the raging waters of the Roaring River picked up trees, rocks and other debris and deposited in lower elevations as the terrain began to level out. This caused what is known as an alluvial fan.
The landscape of the national park changed as the deposited boulders and Earth filled in the natural river bed, creating a new "beautiful" waterfall feature. To make the most of a devastating event, the park created an accessible trail that wanders through the alluvial fan and along Roaring River's new path.
As a result of Lawn Lake's dam failure, older dams around Colorado have either been destroyed or rebuilt so that this type of thing doesn't happen.
Colorado's Worst Natural Disaster: The Big Thompson Flood of 1976
Gallery Credit: Zane Mathews