README for “Dams 2013-Present” dataset. U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE); U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor] 2025-05-29 ---------------------------------------------------------------- LINKS TO DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1520844 B. NTAD catalog dataset link (Current Year): https://doi.org/10.21949/1522042 ---------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY OF DATASET ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Dams 2013-Present dataset is from the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’s (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This dataset includes all known dams of the United States, including Puerto Rico that meet the federal definition of a dam. Dams where downstream flooding would likely result in loss of human life (high hazard potential). Dams where downstream flooding would likely result in disruption of access to critical facilities, damage to public and private facilities, and require difficult mitigation efforts (significant hazard potential). Dams that meet minimum height and reservoir size requirements, even though they do not pose the same level of life or economic risk as those above – these low hazard potential dams equal or exceed 25 feet in height and exceed 15 acre-feet in storage, or equal or exceed 50 acre-feet storage and exceed 6 feet in height. The database contains more than 70 data fields for each dam. This includes the dam’s location, size, purpose, type, last inspection, and regulatory facts. It is maintained and published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, the states, territories, and federal agencies. ---------------------------------------------------------------- TABLE OF CONTENTS ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. General Information B. Sharing/Access & Policies Information C. Data and Related File Overview D. Methodological Information E. Data-Specific Information for: Dams 2013-Present [datasets] F. Update Log ---------------------------------------------------------------- A. GENERAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Title of Dataset: Dams 2013-Present [dataset] 1. Description of Dataset: The Dams 2013-Present dataset is from the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), and is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)/Bureau of Transportation Statistics’ (BTS's) National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD). This dataset includes all known dams of the United States, including Puerto Rico that meet the federal definition of a dam. Dams where downstream flooding would likely result in loss of human life (high hazard potential). Dams where downstream flooding would likely result in disruption of access to critical facilities, damage to public and private facilities, and require difficult mitigation efforts (significant hazard potential). Dams that meet minimum height and reservoir size requirements, even though they do not pose the same level of life or economic risk as those above – these low hazard potential dams equal or exceed 25 feet in height and exceed 15 acre-feet in storage, or equal or exceed 50 acre-feet storage and exceed 6 feet in height. The database contains more than 70 data fields for each dam. This includes the dam’s location, size, purpose, type, last inspection, and regulatory facts. It is maintained and published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with the Association of State Dam Safety Officials, the states, territories, and federal agencies. 2. Dataset archive link: https://doi.org/10.21949/1520844 3. Authorship Information: Principal Data Creator or Data Manager Contact Information Institution: U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Address: 7701 Telegraph Rd, Alexandria VA 22315 Contact: WSD-REACHBACK@usace.army.mil Data Distributor Contact Information Name: National Transportation Atlas Database (NTAD) Institution: U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), Office of Spatial Analysis and Visualization (OSAV) Address: 1200 New Jersey Ave. SE, Washington D.C. 20590 Email: ntad@dot.gov 4. Date of data collection and update interval: It is unknown if this dataset will be updated. 5. Geographic location of data collection: United States of America 6. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) ---------------------------------------------------------------- B. SHARING/ACCESS & POLICIES INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 0. Recommended citation for the data: U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) [distributor]. Dams 2013-Present [datasets]. https://doi.org/10.21949/1520844 1. Licenses/restrictions placed on the data: These data are in the Public Domain. 2. Was data derived from another source?: No. 3.This document was created to meet the requirements enumerated in the U.S. Department of Transportation's 'Plan to Increase Public Access to the Results of Federally-Funded Scientific Research' Version 1.1 << https://doi.org/10.21949/1520559 >> and guidelines suggested by the DOT Public Access website << https://doi.org/10.21949/1503647 >>, in effect and current as of December 03, 2020. ---------------------------------------------------------------- C. DATA & RELATED FILE OVERVIEW ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. File List for the Dams 2013-Present dataset A. Filename: Dams_NTAD2013_Present.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for Dams 2013-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year and data vintage year or date respectively. B. Filename: bts_NTAD_Dams_DMP_20250529.pdf Short description: A PDF file containing the Data Management Plan that was created for current and future management of the data and associated files. C. Filename: bts_NTAD_Dams_README_20250529.txt Short description: The README.txt file that includes human-readable information about the data, variable definitions, contact information, and other contextual information. The file you are reading now. 2. File List for the Dams_NTAD2013_Present.zip collection. A. Filename: NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_Dams_XXXX.zip or NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_Dams_XXXX_XX_XX.zip Short description: Compressed file folders containing the geospatial data for Dams 2013-Present dataset. File folders are classified by NTAD publication year and data vintage year respectively. 3a. File List for the NTADXXXX_SHP_Final_Dams_XXXX.zip collection. A. Filename: dams.shp Short description: A shapefile containing the geospatial data for Dams 2013-Present dataset. This includes associated files with extensions .prj, .dbf, .sbn, .sbx, .shx. B. Filename: dams.txt and dams.shp.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, data dictionary, etc. 3b. File List for the NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_Dams_XXXX_XX_XX.zip collection A. Filename: NTADXXXX_GDB_Final_Dams_XXXX_XX_XX.gdb.zip Short description: A file geodatabase containing the geospatial data for Dams 2013-Present dataset. Geodatabase (GDB) folders contain all the necessary components to view and otherwise interact with their data. B. Filename: Dams.xml Short description: Text files containing key metadata and documentation information such as methodology, procedures, etc. C. Filename: NTAD_Dams.xlsx Short description: Excel spreadsheet containing the dataset's data dictionary. ---------------------------------------------------------------- D. METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) closely collaborates with federal and state dam regulating agencies to obtain accurate and complete information about dams in the database. With the Nov 2021 release of the new NID web site, state and federal regulatory agencies can update their NID information at any time. However, providing updates to the NID is a voluntary action. Some agencies may update their information more frequently while others may update annually. Within the NID, there is a “Data Last Updated” date that reflects when an agency updated information for that specific dam. 2. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: The data and documentation files can be opened with Esri ArcMap and any GIS software package. ---------------------------------------------------------------- E. DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Dams data table It is unknown if this dataset will be updated. Dataset Manager is contacted to verify changes to data resulting in NTAD update. The metadata is updated in the same manner. For the most recent data, please visit the NTAD catalog at https://doi.org/10.21949/1522042 A. Number of variables (columns): The data dictionary found in (PDF documentation) provides definitions for the variables B. Data Dictionary/Variable List: Because of the large number of variables, please refer to the Data Dictionary found within the file Dams.txt for names, definitions, and formats of variables. C. Missing data codes: None ---------------------------------------------------------------- F. UPDATE LOG ---------------------------------------------------------------- This bts_Dams_20250529_README.txt file was originally created on 2021-04-14 by Dominic Menegus, Geographer, dominic.menegus@dot.gov [Note changes or update to the readme.txt file, e.g.:] 2021-04-14: Original file created 2025-05-29: Revised document, including data descriptions and file organization.