Utah dam safety regulations are set out in Chapter 73-5a of the Utah Code and administered by the State Engineer through the Division of Water Rights, which oversees more than 800 dams across the state.1Utah Division of Water Resources. Dam Safety No one may build, modify, remove, or abandon a regulated dam without the State Engineer’s written approval,2Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a Part 2 – Procedures for Approval of Dam Construction and civil penalties for violations run up to $5,000 per day.
Which Dams Are Regulated
The State Engineer’s authority is broad but not universal. A dam may be exempted if it holds less than 20 acre-feet of water and poses no threat to human life. A dam may also be exempt if a failure would cause only minor damage limited to the owner’s own property.3Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-101 – General Provisions
Two carve-outs sit outside state jurisdiction. Dams owned by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation are not state-regulated, though the Bureau still files its plans with the State Engineer.4Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-102 – Applicability Hydroelectric dams may fall under the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which runs its own inspection and design review program.5Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Dam Safety and Inspections
Routine maintenance is unregulated. Anything beyond routine upkeep requires plans submitted at least 90 days before work begins or a construction contract is awarded.6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-202 – Submission of Plans
Hazard Classification Drives Everything
Every regulated dam receives a hazard classification under Utah Administrative Code R655-10-4, based on the consequences of a failure rather than the dam’s current condition. A well-maintained dam above a neighborhood will carry a higher classification than a neglected dam on empty rangeland. There are three tiers:
- High Hazard: Failure would probably cause loss of human life.
- Moderate Hazard: Failure is not likely to kill anyone but could cause significant economic loss, environmental damage, or disruption of major infrastructure.
- Low Hazard: Failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic or environmental losses, mainly limited to the owner’s property.
The classification determines how often the dam is inspected, what flood the spillway must handle, whether an emergency action plan is required, and how urgently deficiencies must be corrected. If downstream development increases over time, the State Engineer can reclassify the dam upward and the owner has to meet the stricter requirements that come with it.
Inspection Requirements
Utah law requires the State Engineer to inspect every dam whose failure could threaten human life or cause significant property damage. The statutory floor is five years between inspections, with intervals set in proportion to the risk a dam poses.7Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-501 – State Engineer to Inspect Dams High Hazard dams are inspected far more frequently than that minimum, on schedules set in administrative rules under R655-12.
Inspectors look for physical signs of distress: excessive seepage through or under the embankment, new cracking in concrete spillways, erosion along the dam face, and slope instability. Clear spillways and working outlet gates matter because a blocked spillway during high flow leads to overtopping, which can fail an embankment quickly. Inspectors also check for tree and brush growth on embankments, since root channels can create hidden seepage pathways.
After an inspection, the State Engineer specifies what maintenance is required and the owner is responsible for completing it.8Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-503 – Owners Required to Perform Maintenance For more serious problems, the State Engineer can order engineering studies, repairs, storage restrictions, or even removal or breaching of the dam.
Approvals for New Construction and Modifications
A new dam or significant modification to an existing one requires written approval before construction begins. Plans must be submitted at least 90 days before awarding a contract or starting work, though that window can be shortened if the owner and design engineer submit satisfactory preliminary plans early.6Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-202 – Submission of Plans
Smaller dams that hold less than 20 acre-feet and are not classified as High Hazard may be allowed to skip the full plan submission. Instead, the owner files an application listing the dam’s location, dimensions, and attached water rights.9Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-204 – Application for Approval
Approvals expire. If construction has not begun within one year, the approval is void. The State Engineer can grant one-year extensions for good cause, but only if the design still meets current engineering standards.10Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-205 – Approvals Void After One Year During construction, state engineers or independent consultants perform periodic inspections, and the owner must provide a licensed engineer with dam experience to supervise the work. No water may be impounded until the State Engineer completes a final inspection.11Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-301 – Inspections During Construction
If construction departs from the approved plans, the State Engineer can order the owner to come into compliance or approve the modification. If neither happens within a reasonable time, the State Engineer can order the incomplete structure removed.12Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-302 – Construction Violations
Design Standards for Spillways and Seismic Stability
Engineering specifications live in Utah Administrative Code R655-11. The central requirement is the Inflow Design Flood, which is the largest flood the spillway must safely pass without the embankment being overtopped. High and Moderate Hazard dams must be designed to the Spillway Evaluation Flood, calculated from regional precipitation data combined with Utah-specific storm analyses. Low Hazard dams are designed to the 100-year flood, a much lower bar.13Utah Division of Water Rights. Utah Administrative Code R655-11 – Requirements for the Design, Construction and Abandonment of Dams
The State Engineer has some discretion. If an Incremental Damage Assessment shows that a failure would add no threat to human life and only minimal property damage beyond what the flooding itself would cause, the approved design flood may be lower than the full Spillway Evaluation Flood. The approved design can never fall below the 100-year flood.13Utah Division of Water Rights. Utah Administrative Code R655-11 – Requirements for the Design, Construction and Abandonment of Dams
Seismic standards also apply. Dams must withstand ground shaking from regional earthquakes without losing storage capacity, and owners submit geological reports and engineering analyses on seismic risk as part of their design plans. Where an older dam no longer meets current seismic or hydrologic standards, the State Engineer can impose storage restrictions until upgrades are completed.8Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-503 – Owners Required to Perform Maintenance
Emergency Action Plans
Owners of High Hazard and Moderate Hazard dams that are required to submit plans under Section 73-5a-202 must prepare, maintain, and periodically exercise an Emergency Action Plan.14Legal Information Institute. Utah Administrative Code R655-12-6 – Emergency Action Plans Each plan includes inundation maps showing the predicted flood path and depth after a failure, which local law enforcement and emergency responders use to identify areas that would need immediate evacuation.
The plan defines escalating emergency levels, from an internal alert when conditions become concerning to a dam-failure-imminent warning that triggers full downstream evacuation. Owners must keep contact information current and periodically test their notification procedures. The State Engineer retains copies of these plans to coordinate between state and local agencies.
Penalties and Enforcement
When the State Engineer identifies a violation, the process begins with a written notice specifying the problem and the facts behind it. The State Engineer can then issue a corrective action order and, if necessary, take the matter to district court.15Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-701 – Notice of Violation
Civil penalties reach up to $5,000 per violation, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense. The violator is also liable for any expenses the State Engineer incurs in fixing the problem. Paying the penalty does not shield the owner from separate civil lawsuits by people harmed by the violation.16Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-702 – Civil Penalties
In genuine emergencies, the notice-and-order process can be bypassed. If a dam is so dangerous that waiting for enforcement would risk lives, and the owner cannot be found or refuses to act, the State Engineer can intervene directly. The owner reimburses the costs afterward.17Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-603 – Emergency Intervention
Owner Liability After a Failure
Utah takes an unusual position on dam owner liability. The statute explicitly says dam owners may not be held strictly liable for acts or omissions related to building, owning, or operating their dams.18Utah Legislature. Utah Code 73-5a-103 – Liability A downstream property owner who suffers flood damage from a failure cannot recover simply by proving the dam failed. They must show the owner was negligent, meaning the owner did not exercise reasonable care in maintaining or operating the dam.
The same statute preserves all other legal duties that come with dam ownership. Meeting the state’s minimum safety requirements helps establish a baseline of care, but compliance alone does not guarantee immunity from lawsuits. Courts evaluate each situation on its facts, including whether the owner responded to known deficiencies, maintained adequate insurance, and kept the emergency plan current. Where the downstream risk is great, courts expect a correspondingly higher level of caution.
Funding for Rehabilitation
Since 1992, the Utah Legislature has provided grant funding through the Board of Water Resources for high-hazard dam rehabilitations. The current annual appropriation is $3.8 million, with projects prioritized by risk assessments that weigh downstream population against the cost of repairs.1Utah Division of Water Resources. Dam Safety In 2023, the Legislature made a one-time investment of $25 million to fund upgrades to roughly 100 high-hazard dams that do not meet current safety standards.19Utah Division of Water Resources. 2023 General Session Water Legislation and Funding
Federal funding is available too. FEMA’s National Dam Safety Program provides grants to states to support inspection programs, emergency planning, and public awareness, with $7.48 million offered nationally in fiscal year 2025.20Federal Emergency Management Agency. National Dam Safety Program For larger projects, FEMA’s Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams grant program provides between $100,000 and $7.5 million per project, with a 65% federal and 35% non-federal cost share. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocated more than $185 million for this program.21Federal Emergency Management Agency. Rehabilitation of High Hazard Potential Dams Grant Program Resources
To qualify for the federal rehabilitation grants, the dam must be listed as high hazard potential in the National Inventory of Dams, must not be federally owned, and must fail to meet state safety standards. The jurisdiction must also have a FEMA-approved hazard mitigation plan that addresses dam risks. The grants cannot be used to add hydroelectric capacity or to increase water supply storage; they are strictly for safety improvements.