New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 19 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND WILDLIFE › Chapter 25 - ADMINISTRATION AND USE OF WATER - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Part 12 - DAM DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION AND DAM SAFETY › Section 19.25.12.11 - DESIGN OF A DAM

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
Any person, association or corporation, public or private,
				  the state, or the United States that is intending to construct a dam shall
				  submit an application to construct and operate a dam and supporting
				  documentation acceptable to the state engineer. This section primarily
				  addresses the design and construction of embankment dams. Other types of dams
				  shall conform to sound engineering principles and current state of the
				  practice. Because each site, design and operating practice is unique, waivers
				  of specific requirements in this section will be considered on a case-by-case
				  basis. Request for waiver shall be in writing accompanied with documentation
				  justifying the request. If the request is not justified to the satisfaction of
				  the state engineer the request will be denied. If the supporting documentation
				  for the design of a dam does not meet acceptable engineering standards and does
				  not conform to these regulations, as determined by the state engineer, a
				  quality management plan or third party review may be required by the state
				  engineer. Construction shall not begin until the state engineer has accepted
				  the supporting documentation and approved the application with permit
				  conditions. The application and supporting documentation shall include the
				  information described below.
A.
				Application: An application form shall be completed with original signature of
				the dam owner and accompanied with a filing fee in accordance with Subsection A
				of 19.25.12.8 NMAC. The form will be the only information available to the
				public before the project is approved for construction. All other supporting
				documentation is considered draft until accepted by the state engineer. A plan
				review fee in accordance with Subsection C of 19.25.12.8 NMAC shall accompany
				the submittal of the design report, construction drawings and specifications. A
				detailed estimate of the construction cost for the proposed dam and appurtenant
				structures shall be submitted in support of the plan review fee.
B. Water right: A water right is required for
				water impounded by the dam. If the dam owner has a permit for the diversion of
				water, documentation addressing the necessity for storage, diversion periods
				and release conditions for the reservoir may be required. This requirement is
				waived for flood control dams that do not detain water longer than 96 hours in
				accordance with Subparagraph (b) of Paragraph (7) of Subsection C of
				19.25.12.11 NMAC or provide documentation that a waiver by the state engineer
				has been granted. Flood control dams that do not drain within 96 hours require
				a water right for water permanently stored beyond the 96-hour drain time
				requirement and for associated losses due to evaporation and other potential
				depletions to the system unless a waiver in accordance with 19.25.12.11 NMAC is
				obtained.
C. Design report: A
				design report, which includes information to evaluate the safe design of the
				dam and appurtenant structures, shall be submitted in a form acceptable to the
				state engineer. The final design report shall also be submitted in an
				electronic format acceptable to the state engineer. The design report may be
				submitted as a single report or as individual reports documenting the
				information described below. A professional engineer licensed in the state of
				New Mexico qualified in the design and construction of dams shall prepare or
				supervise the preparation of the design report. The front cover shall show the
				name of the dam, the county in which the dam is located, the dam owner and the
				type of report. The first page behind the front cover shall show the name of
				the dam, the county in which the dam is located, a signed certification from
				the engineer and a certification for the state engineer in accordance with
				Subsections B and E of 19.25.12.12 NMAC. The design report shall contain the
				information described below and any other additional information determined
				necessary by the state engineer to evaluate if the design is safe.
(1) Hazard potential classification. A hazard
				potential classification shall be based on the dam failure condition that
				results in the greatest potential for loss of life and property damage. If the
				state engineer concurs, the classification may be based on the judgment and
				recommendation of the professional engineer. For all other cases, a low or
				significant hazard potential classification shall be supported by a dam breach
				and flood routing analysis, which includes calculations and data that supports
				the predicted dam failure flood. This analysis shall also address the potential
				for foreseeable future development. Evaluation of the effects of flooding from
				dam failure shall extend at least to the location downstream where the
				classification can be properly identified. The dam breach and flood routing
				analysis shall include, but not be limited to:
(a) description of the dam breach and flood
				routing methodology;
(b) a
				tabulation and justification of parameters used in the analysis;
(c) a sensitivity analysis of the parameters
				used in the analysis;
(d)
				references to all computer models, data and supporting justification used in
				the analysis;
(e) appropriate data
				sheets, computer program input and output computations and electronic files
				from computerized analysis;
(f)
				table of results for the flood routing for the sunny day failure and the
				failure and no failure scenarios for multiple flood events up to and including
				the spillway design flood as defined in Subparagraph (a) through (d) of
				Paragraph (3) of Subsection C of 19.25.12.11 NMAC; the table of results for all
				critical locations downstream shall include the depth of flow in feet, velocity
				of flow in feet per second, rate of flow in cubic feet per second and the
				incremental impacts; and
(g) dam
				failure inundation maps downstream of the dam for the sunny day failure and
				failure during the spillway design flood event showing the depth of flow in
				feet, average velocity in feet per second and rate of flow in cubic feet per
				second at critical locations downstream.