The Fremont County Office of Emergency Management, the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), and the Fremont County Commissioners host a public meeting Thursday evening, July 7th, to discuss the status of the C-4 flood control dam south of Canon City. Due to subsidence of soil in parts of the dam the Colorado State Engineer’s Office issued a breach order to the County last year. The breach order requires that Fremont County either take steps to repair the dam or breach it. Breaching or removing the entire dam would expose some 500 homes in the Lincoln Park neighborhood to potential flooding from a significant storm event south of Canon City.
The C-4 dam is a 38-foot tall earthen embankment located just to the north side of the Shadow Hills Country Club Golf Course. It was built in 1971 and it capable of holding 213 acre feet of stormwater which would be slowly released over a longer period of time. Safety concerns about the C-4 dam came to the public’s attention in August of 2004 when a severe thunderstorm with the potential of heavy rain passed over Canon City. Emergency Management Director Ray Southard kept an all night watch on the dam but the rain and a threat never materialized. Southard says his office remains vigilant in keeping a watchful eye on the dam from any storm and flooding threats this summer.
A team of specialists from the NRCS completed an engineering assessment of the C-4 dam earlier this year and said the dam can be repaired. The NRCS has made available $600,000 under the Small Watershed Rehabilitation program to help repair the dam. The Federal funds will be matched by $60,000 from the Fremont County Board of Commissioners. Engineering assessments and status of repairs to the dam will be discussed at the public meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 7th. The meeting will be in Room 207 on the second floor of the Fremont County Administration Building at 615 Macon Avenue, Canon City.