More than 40-thousand people live below a dam the Forest Service says nobody is maintaining anymore. And, it's creating some huge safety concerns.

News Specialist Karen Schaler has the latest. Karen, where exactly is this Dam?

This is a dam very few people know about and it's right above Ft. Douglas. The Army has owned this dam for about a hundred years. But now the Army not going to maintain the dam anymore and this has the Forest Service very worried

Larry Gillham/U.S. Forest Service: ((VERY FEW PEOPLE KNOW ABOUT THIS DAM AND VERY FEW PEOPLE WHO LIVE DOWNSTREAM KNOW IT'S HERE AND WHAT COULD HAPPEN IF IT ISN'T MAINTAINED PROPERLY))

Red Butte Dam is nestled in the mountains a few miles above Ft. Douglas. Until last week the Army has maintained this dam, but not anymore. Now the Forest Service is extremely worried about what could happen if this dam falls apart in the future.

The Forest Service says if Red Butte Dam breaks, engineers estimate a wall of water and mud would pour out of the mountain side, hit Ft. Douglas, slaming into the Utah national guard center and the Veterans Hospital.

The water would then flood the residential areas of Sunnuside Avenue and Michigan Avenue. Eventually moving on to East High School, crossing over I-15 and ending up in the Jordan River.

Larry Gillham/U.S. Forest Service: ((THERE ARE 40 TO 50 THOUSAND PEOPLE DOWNSTREAM OF THIS DAM THAT COULD BE EFFECTED. OUR ENGINEERS ESTIMATE UP TO A HALF BILLION DOLLARS OF DAMAGE COULD BE DONE DOWNSTREAM.))

In the past, an Army maintaince worker would come to this small building 3 to four times a week and monitor the Dam's water levels. Not anymore.

There is also no one assigned to keep an eye on this constantly clogged spillway, what's suppose to be a safety valve of the Dam.

Larry Gillham/U.S. Forest Service: ((MOST PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA THERE'S A DAM IN RED BUTTE CANYON..NO IDEA IT'S A HUNDRED YEARS OLD AND THEY'RE LIVING BELOW A DAM THAT'S CONSIDERED A HIGH HAZZARD DAM BY THE FOREST SERVICE.))

The Forest Service tried to get the county to help pay for maintenance at the dam today, but says the county isn't interested. The Forest Service says it's stuck in the middle and it's main concern is the residents who live in the potential flood plain.