Dam
Water
A barrier built across a watercourse to impound or divert water. A barrier that obstructs, directs, retards, or stores the flow of water. Usually built across a stream. A structure built to hold back a flow of water. See afterbay dam, ambursen dam, arch dam, buttress dam, check dam, coffer dam, concrete dam, crib dam, detention dam, diversion dam, double curvature arch dam, earth dam, embankment dam, gabion dam, gravity arch dam, gravity dam, hollow gravity dam, hydraulic fill dam, industrial waste dam, masonry dam, mine tailings dam, multiple arch dam, multipurpose dam, overflow dam, precast dam, prestressed dam, regulating dam, rockfill dam, roller-compacted concrete dam, rubble dam, or saddle dam.
A barrier built, usually across a watercourse, for impounding or diverting the flow of water.
- — Dam Safety - Glossary of Terms retrieved 2014-06-01
Any artificial barrier which impounds or diverts water. The dam is generally hydrologically significant if it is:
- 25 feet or more in height from the natural bed of the stream and has a storage of at least 15 acre-feet.
- Or has an impounding capacity of 50 acre-feet or more and is at least six feet above the natural bed of the stream.
- — Service Hydrologist Reference Manual Glossary of Hydrologic Terms retrieved 2014-06-01
Energy
Weather
In hydrologic terms, any artificial barrier which impounds or diverts water. The dam is generally hydrologically significant if it is:
1. 25 feet or more in height from the natural bed of the stream and has a storage of at least 15 acre-feet.
2. Or has an impounding capacity of 50 acre-feet or more and is at least six feet above the natural bed of the stream.