The Denver Post recently reported on the risk of aging dams throughout the United States. Improvements made to the Standley Lake Dam in the early 2000s combined with a thorough monitoring and reporting program ensure the integrity of the dam and exemplify Westminster’s ongoing commitment to safety.

The Standley Lake Dam was first constructed by the Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company (FRICO) between 1909 and 1919 to provide irrigation water for farms north of Denver. At the time, the Standley Lake Dam was the largest earthen dam in the United States measuring 700-feet wide at the base, 1.25 miles long and 113-feet high.

In need of more water in the 1960s, the city enlarged the dam under an agreement with FRICO that would allow the city to store 12,000 acre-feet of water in Standley Lake. Today, FRICO still owns and operates the dam in partnership with the cities of Northglenn, Thornton and Westminster.

These partners implement a comprehensive program to monitor the on-going condition and safety of the dam beyond what is required by state and federal regulations. The dam is inspected daily by the dam tender, monthly by an independent engineer and every one-to-two years by the Dam Safety branch of the State of Colorado’s Engineer’s Office. Instruments are used to regularly monitor reservoir levels, seepage through the dam and movement of the dam. This data is collected and analyzed on a monthly basis.

In the early 2000s, approximately $35 million was spent on major modifications and upgrades to improve the safety of the dam. Renovation work included the addition of a stability berm, construction of a new spillway to handle extreme flooding events and new outlet works, which were moved from the middle of the dam to the north end of the dam to improve safety.