Testing for Georgetown's Dam Warning Sirens
Xcel Energy to test Georgetown dam warning sirens on March 6, 2024 and continue the first Wednesday of every month at 10:00 AM
At Xcel Energy, safety is at the foundation of all we do. To protect your community, we have installed four early warning sirens to warn people in the Town of Georgetown of potential flooding due to the unlikely event of a dam failure at Xcel Energy’s Cabin Creek or Georgetown hydroelectric plants. A siren would sound an alert tone followed by instructions.
Federal regulations require us to place these warning sirens in the community and test them periodically. The first test of the new system will be March 6, 2024, at 10:00am MST.
The four sirens have been installed at:
- Xcel Energy Georgetown Substation, 600 Griffith St.
- Werlin Park, 11th and Taos St.
- Meadows Park tennis/basketball courts, Main St., south of Skyline Dr.
- Georgetown Lake west shore, Bighorn Trail north of the restrooms
You may hear up to 3 minutes of noise at approximately 10:00am MST. Depending on how close you are to these four locations, you may want to stay indoors, and keep children and pets indoors. Decibel levels will range from 50 dB (normal office sounds) to 110 decibels (chain saw).
“Attention! This is a test of the dam failure warning system. This is only a test. If this was an actual emergency, you would receive instructions. This is only a test.”
- Whoop tone for 15 seconds.
- Post Test Message: “This has been a test of the dam failure warning system. This was only a test.”
If there was a failure at Xcel Energy’s Xcel Energy’s Hydroelectric Dam, the sirens would be used to quickly and safely alert people who are downstream of the dam to move to higher ground. In the event of a dam failure, the sequence would be:
- Whoop tone for 10 seconds.
- “Attention!” an upstream dam has failed. Remain calm and seek higher ground immediately. Expect rapidly rising waters. Please evacuate to a safe area immediately!” (repeat three times with five-second delay between messages).
- Whoop tone for 60 seconds
- Repeat for 30 minutes or until warning is cancelled.
Xcel Energy makes clean, affordable electricity from falling water at facilities in Colorado and the Upper Midwest. More information about hydroelectric plant safety, including dams and surrounding waterways, can be found in the Public Safety section of xcelenergy.com.
Xcel Energy worked closely with the Clear Creek County Sheriff’s Department during the installation of the warning sirens and coordination of the testing schedule. All questions related to the dam failure warning sirens should be directed to Xcel Energy’s 24-hour Customer Contact Center at 1-800-895-4999.
More information from Xcel Energy