Piedra Liza Dam

Just outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Piedra Liza Dam today protects seven times as many people as when it was built in the early 1950s. Analyses in the early 2000s showed deficiencies within the dam and should it fail, as many as 1,700 residents in the area and 43,000 commuters on Interstate 25 could be adversely affected. Sandoval County applied to the NRCS Small Watershed Rehabilitation Program for assistance in 2005 and by 2007 repairs had been completed. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service.