Environmental Issue of the Safety of Dams

A team of 20 Dillon Dam Road security guards, most are off-duty law enforcement or military veterans, spend several hours a day watching 5,000 to 7,000 cars a day pass the Dillon Dam. The Dillon Dam is located in Dillon Colorado, along Highway 70, on the way to Utah. The guard may appear calm and they wave and smile back at passengers; however, they are high alert and investigating each car that crosses it for any security threats or suspicious activity. The guards' primary duty is security of the dam and the facilities around the dam. The safety of the residents in Summit County and the Denver-metro area is vital. Any faults could cause severe water system issues and 84 billion gallons of water are at stake if the water were to be released and cause a shortage for the Denver area (Nash 2012).

The Dillon Dam was constructed in the 1960s, before terrorism was a factor considered in the course of infrastructure projects, the Dillon Dam was unprotected for most of its history. But the world changed after Sept. 11, 2001 and dams have become an object that needs to make aware that something could happen to it. Since Denver Water is responsible for the Dillon Dam and ensuring a continuous supply of water to the people of Denver and Denver Water’s suburban customers, Denver Water's responsibilities have completely changed. The Dillon Dam Road had to be shutdown completely for several weeks in 2001 while security was overhauled     with new guard shacks on either end of the structure to improve lighting for security purposes (Nash 2012; Hossain, Jeyachandran, and Pielke 2010).

References:

Hossain, F., I. Jeyachandran, and R. Pielke Sr. 2010. Dam safety effects due to human alteration of extreme precipitation. Water Resources Research 46 W03301 (accessed March 28, 2012).

Nash, Caddie. 2012. Dillon Dam guards conserve and protect Denver Water facility. Denver Post. February 7. http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_19895517 (accessed March 28, 2012).