Trujillo Meadows Reservoir Dam Repair and Modification

Trujillo Meadows Reservoir Dam is an earth-fill structure located on the Rio de los Pinos in the Rio Grande National Forest in southern Colorado. The dam was constructed in the mid 1950's as a recreation site. The dam is a homogenous embankment with a crest length of 160 feet and a structural height of 35 feet. The spillway is an unlined channel on the left abutment with a crest length of 118 feet.
The dam is currently classified as a Small Class I dam which must have a spillway capable of passing the inflow design flood generated by 75 percent of the probable maximum precipitation. A hydrologic study indicated that the spillway was not capable of passing the required flow and overtopping of the dam would occur.
The dam also has seepage through the left abutment that developed soon after the reservoir was first filled and has continued ever since. The amount of seepage does vary directly with the reservoir level, being greatest with the high reservoir level and decreasing as the reservoir level drops after spring run-off. The seepage appears to be great enough to draw the reservoir level down to approximately 5 feet below the spillway crest.