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Hay" (Ol1111 \ I Program. In addition, if a federally declared disaster occurred in Hays County, these nonparticipating communities would only receive limited Federal Assistance. The City of San Marcos is the only community in Hays County that participates in FEMA's Community Rating System (CRS) Program and the City currently has a CRS classification of7. The Community Rating System is a program developed by FEMA for those communities participating in the National Flood Insurance Program that are enforcing a more restrictive floodplain management program than the minimum NFIP standards. In turn, property owners receive a discount in their premiums when renewing or purchase new flood insurance policies. Mitigation Plan Action Item F.9 (Section 6.0) establishes the goal for additional Hays County communities to enroll in FEMA's CRS Program. Hays County was one of seven Hill Country counties declared a disaster by the Small Business Administration after the November 15-18, 2001 flood. The list of counties also included Bastrop, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Travis and Williamson. Additional information regarding flood and other disaster events in Hays County is located in Plan Section 3.7. I Hazard Identification Just because a dam has been in place for over 50 years does not mean that its continued existence can be taken for granted. Troubles from dam failures can occur anytime, without warning, and with catastrophic results. A dam is defined as a barrier constructed across a watercourse for the purpose of storage, control, or diversion of water. Dams typically are constructed of earth, rock, concrete, or mine tailings. A dam failure is an accidental or unintentional collapse, breach, or other failure of an impoundment structure that results in downstream flooding. Because dams are man-made structures, dam failures are usually considered technological hazards. However, since most dam failures result from prolonged periods of rainfall, they are often cited as secondary or cascading effects of natural flooding disasters and are not named as the primary hazard that causes disaster declarations. A dam impounds water in the upstream area, referred to as the reservoir. The amount of water impounded is measured in acre-feet. An acre-foot is the volume of water that covers an acre of land to a depth of one foot. As a function of upstream topography, even a very small dam may impound many acre-feet of water. Two factors influence the potential severity of a full or partial dam failure: (1) the amount of water impounded, and (2) the density, type, and value of development and infrastructure located downstream. I . Dam failures can result from anyone or a combination of the following causes: . prolonged periods of rainfall and flooding, which cause most failures . inadequate spillway capacity, resulting in excess overtopping flows . internal erosion caused by embankment or foundation leakage or piping Ha~'s counl~', Texas Miligalion Plan 58