About Us

About damsafetyaction.org

The program’s purpose is to provide support for the Texas Dam Safety Program in an effort to reach a goal of 100 percent completion of Emergency Action Plans (EAPs) on state-regulated dams categorized as Significant-Hazard Potential (SHP) High-Hazard Potential (HHP), meaning a breach would threaten loss of life and extensive property damage.

Texas has more than 7,170 dams, of which 1,083 are HHP dams and 690 are SHP dams, all classified as putting human lives at risk. As of October 2013, more than 800 of the HHP dams and 396 SHP dams had EAPs, leaving several hundred dams without plans for emergency response. By state dam safety statutes and regulations, owners of SHP and HHP dams must have EAPs on their dams unless they have been granted a reasonable extension of time. The state Legislature in 2013 permanently exempted 210 SHP dams from EAP requirements.

The DamSafetyAction.org website and outreach program is part of an initiative by the National Dam Safety Review Board and the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assist states with significant numbers of HHP dams in their efforts to achieve greater compliance on EAPs.