SMALL DAMS ORGANIZATION

Small Dams Organization, a tier of Irrigation & Power Department is working in pothohar plateau
of Punjab for development of water resources by constructing storage dams. 46 No. dams have
been constructed up till now, where as 5 Nos. are near to completion, construction of 8 No. dams
project has started this year. The dams under the jurisdiction of Small Dams Organization are
called small dams after the name of organization but as per ICOLD classification, these dams
having average height of 80 ft falls under the category of medium dams.

CLASSIFICATION OF DAMS AS PER ICOLD* CRITERIA

Classification of dams and reservoirs.

 (a)  A dam or reservoir shall be classified in accordance with size and the hazard potential which
might occur in the event of an operational or structural failure. In approving a hazard potential
classification, the Department will consider, without limitation:

   (1)  The height of the dam and storage capacity of the reservoir.

   (2)  The physical characteristics and extent of actual and projected development of the dam site
and downstream areas.

(b) There is no difference in the safety requirement, basic investigation, design criteria, design,
construction procedures etc between small, medium and large dams.

 (c)  The following shall be the classifications and descriptions as used in this section:

SIZE CLASSIFICATION*

Impoundment Storage
Class
(Acre Feet)
A Equal to or greater than 50,000
B Less than 50,000 but greater than 1000
C Equal to or less than 1000
Dam Height (Feet)
Equal to or greater than 100
Less than 100 but greater than 40
Equal to or less than 40

Distribution of Dams by Height

Sr. No. Dam Height (Feet) Classification

1 25 ft to 40 ft Small Dams
2 40 to 100 ft Medium Dams
3 >100 ft Large

   *Note: Size classification may be determined by either storage or height of structure, whichever

gives the higher category.

 *ICOLD International Commission on Large Dams