This is a list of dams in Colorado that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams.
Removals by watershed
Arkansas River
In 2019 the Cucharas Number 5 Dam was removed from the Cucharas River, a tributary of the Huerfano River, itself a tributary of the Arkansas River. This 1910 irrigation dam experienced structural problems throughout its life, including a partial failure in 1987 which resulted in the emergency dynamiting of a spillway. Reconstruction of the dam was proposed in the 2010s but was deemed economically infeasible. Following years of litigation, the State Engineer took emergency control of the dam in 2017 for safety reasons. The state removed it in 2019, recovering the cost in court from the dam's owners. At the time, it was the third-largest dam ever to be removed in the United States.
Completed removals Dam Height Year removed Location Watercourse Watershed Mt Shavano Dam (Salida Lowhead Dam) 2023 Chaffee County Arkansas River Arkansas River Riss East 2016 Teller County Tributary to Barnard Creek Riss North 2016 Teller County Riss South 2016 Teller County Dotson and Enlargement Dam 2015 Pueblo County Huerfano River Cucharas Number 5 Dam 2019 Huerfano County Cucharas River Idylwilde Dam 2013 Larimer County Big Thompson River Big Thompson River Carriage Hills #2 Dam 2017 Estes Park Fish Creek Glacier #1 Dam 1985 Rocky Mountain National Park North Fork Big Thompson River Chipeta Dam 2006 Hotchkiss North Fork Gunnison River Gunnison River Hidden Treasure Dam 2019 Lake City Henson Creek Lake George Diversion Dam (Lower Eleven Mile Dam) 2023 Park County South Platte River South Platte River Pear Lake Dam 1988 Allenspark Cony Creek Dewey No. 1 2014 Denver Lower Church Lake Dam 2015 Fort Lupton Big Dry Creek Stanley Canyon Dam 2018 El Paso County Stanley Canyon Creek Unnamed Dam #1 (Lamborn #1) 2002 Fort Morgan Tributary to South Platte River Unnamed Dam #2 2002 Tributary to South Platte River Josh Ames Diversion Dam 2013 Fort Collins Cache la Poudre River Bluebird Dam 1990 Rocky Mountain National Park Ouzel Creek Sand Beach Dam 1988 Allenspark Sand Beach Creek Hall Dam 2017 Jefferson County Clear Creek Polaris Dam 2018 Glenwood Springs Tributary to Cattle Creek Toby Wells Pond Dam 1989 No Name #21 Dam 1990 No Name #8 Dam 1990
References