Dams in Iowa

%!s(int=4124)Total Dams

91High Hazard

274Significant

3759Low Hazard

Dam Safety in Iowa

Iowa has 4,124 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 91 (2%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 274 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 25 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in Iowa is 45 years old. The most common purpose for dams in Iowa is fire protection, stock, or small fish pond, accounting for 2,739 of the state's dams.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in Iowa, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

Iowa Dam Facts

Total Dams	4,124
High Hazard Dams	91
Average Dam Age	45 years
Tallest Dam	125 ft
Largest Reservoir	641,000 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	25

Notable Dams in Iowa

Saylorville Dam125 ftHigh County Basin Dam104 ftSignificant Rathbun Dam100 ftHigh Brushy Creek Dam100 ftHigh Gibson South - Dredge Spoil Disposal95 ftSignificant

Counties in Iowa

Adair54 dams1 high hazard Adams60 dams1 high hazard Allamakee16 dams Appanoose95 dams1 high hazard Audubon84 dams2 high hazard Benton14 dams Black Hawk11 dams5 high hazard Boone17 dams Bremer2 dams Buchanan5 dams Buena Vista14 dams1 high hazard Butler7 dams Calhoun2 dams Carroll11 dams1 high hazard Cass79 dams Cedar2 dams Cerro Gordo10 dams Cherokee53 dams Chickasaw5 dams Clarke61 dams2 high hazard Clay5 dams Clayton10 dams3 high hazard Clinton14 dams4 high hazard Crawford145 dams2 high hazard Dallas66 dams3 high hazard Davis146 dams Decatur90 dams1 high hazard Delaware11 dams Des Moines34 dams2 high hazard Dickinson8 dams Dubuque13 dams1 high hazard Emmet5 dams Fayette7 dams Floyd5 dams Franklin7 dams1 high hazard Fremont69 dams1 high hazard Greene19 dams Grundy1 dams Guthrie59 dams Hamilton4 dams Hancock3 dams Hardin20 dams Harrison100 dams1 high hazard Henry34 dams Howard5 dams Humboldt8 dams Ida61 dams Iowa21 dams2 high hazard Jackson11 dams1 high hazard Jasper51 dams Jefferson65 dams Jo Daviess1 dams Johnson32 dams5 high hazard Jones9 dams Keokuk27 dams Kossuth6 dams Lee28 dams Linn19 dams2 high hazard Louisa25 dams Lucas89 dams1 high hazard Lyon8 dams Madison84 dams1 high hazard Mahaska37 dams Marion45 dams Marshall19 dams Mercer1 dams Mills79 dams1 high hazard Mitchell5 dams Monona198 dams Monroe82 dams Montgomery57 dams Muscatine14 dams O'Brien13 dams Osceola2 dams Page40 dams Palo Alto3 dams Plymouth75 dams4 high hazard Pocahontas8 dams Polk80 dams11 high hazard Pottawattamie86 dams2 high hazard Poweshiek33 dams2 high hazard Ringgold167 dams Sac7 dams Scott22 dams2 high hazard Shelby60 dams Sioux7 dams1 high hazard Story34 dams3 high hazard Tama34 dams Taylor67 dams Union128 dams2 high hazard Van Buren45 dams1 high hazard Wapello54 dams5 high hazard Warren102 dams Washington57 dams Wayne78 dams Webster12 dams1 high hazard Whiteside1 dams Winnebago1 dams Winneshiek23 dams Woodbury311 dams11 high hazard Worth7 dams Wright3 dams

High Hazard Dams in Iowa

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Saylorville Dam	Polk	125 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Brushy Creek Dam	Webster	100 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Rathbun Dam	Appanoose	100 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Big Creek Barrier Dam	Polk	84 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Big Creek Diversion Dam	Polk	80 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Maffitt Reservoir Dam	Dallas	79 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Lost Grove Lake	Scott	75 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Pony Creek Watershed Site 21	Mills	75 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Pleasant Creek Lake Dam	Linn	73 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-3	Woodbury	69 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Site M-1	Union	66 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Indian Creek Watershed Site 2	Pottawattamie	65 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Smokey Hollow Subwatershed Site 4	Woodbury	64 ft	Poor	Flood Risk Reduction
Zaiser Dam	Des Moines	61 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Little River Watershed Site M-1	Decatur	61 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Yellowsmoke Park Dam	Crawford	59 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Smokey Hollow Subwatershed Site 1	Woodbury	59 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Leisure Lake Dam	Jackson	58 ft	Fair	Recreation
Smokey Hollow Subwatershed Site 3	Woodbury	58 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Arbor Valley Lake Dam	Clarke	58 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Deer Creek Dam	Plymouth	55 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Hamburg Watershed Site M-1	Fremont	55 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-2-4	Woodbury	51 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Ponderosa Dam	Poweshiek	50 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-3-1	Woodbury	50 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Sugema Dam	Van Buren	50 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Pikes Peak Flood Control Dam	Clayton	49 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Smokey Hollow Subwatershed Site 2	Woodbury	49 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Fort Des Moines Park Dam	Polk	49 ft	Fair	Recreation
Storm Lake - Northeast Dredge Spoil Disposal Dam	Buena Vista	49 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Lake Of The Hills Dam	Scott	48 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Covered Bridge Estates Dam	Madison	47 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Meyer Dam	Crawford	45 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Davids Creek Watershed Site 1b-2	Audubon	45 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Littlefield Lake Dam	Audubon	45 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Beeds Lake Dam	Franklin	44 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Grade Lake Dam	Clarke	44 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Siegel Flood Control Dam	Clayton	43 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Red Haw Dam	Lucas	43 ft	Fair	Recreation
Jefferson Park Watershed Site 5	Wapello	43 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Held Watershed Site E-3	Plymouth	43 ft	Poor	Flood Risk Reduction
Twenty-sixth Street Stormwater Detention Basin	Polk	43 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Greenfield Reservoir Dam	Adair	42 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Jefferson Park Watershed Site 3	Wapello	42 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Focht & Schindel Dam	Plymouth	41 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Slaughter Flood Control Dam	Clayton	41 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Carter Road Stormwater Detention Dam	Dubuque	41 ft	Fair	Recreation
Schoenewe Dam	Des Moines	41 ft	Poor	Recreation
Bacon Creek Watershed Site C-1	Woodbury	41 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
West Lakes Office Park Dam	Polk	41 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Virden Creek Dam	Black Hawk	39 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Southfork Dam	Dallas	38 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Mill Picayune Watershed Site B-3	Harrison	38 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Clive Lake Dam	Polk	37 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Held Watershed Site E-4	Plymouth	37 ft	Poor	Flood Risk Reduction
North Branch Ralston Creek Dam	Johnson	37 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Jefferson Park Watershed Site 1	Wapello	36 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Jefferson Park Watershed Site 4	Wapello	36 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Glen Oaks Country Club Dam	Polk	36 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-1-1	Woodbury	36 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Heritage Woods Dam	Dallas	35 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Monument Road Dam	Pottawattamie	32 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Glen Ellen Subwatershed Site 3-2	Woodbury	32 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Jefferson Park Watershed Site 10	Wapello	30 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Glen Ellen Subwatershed Site 3-1	Woodbury	29 ft	Satisfactory	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Lake Cimarron	Poweshiek	27 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Prescott Flood Prevention Dam	Adams	27 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Middle Pond Dam	Iowa	27 ft	Poor	Irrigation
Creston Flood Prevention Dam	Union	27 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Aegon Dam	Linn	26 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Oaknoll Dam	Johnson	25 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
West Branch Flood Control Dam	Johnson	24 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Easter Lake Stormwater Retention Basin - Site 9	Polk	24 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Clinton Flood Control - Whittier Dam	Clinton	24 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Coralville Regional Detention Basin	Johnson	23 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Viking Road Detention Dam	Black Hawk	22 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Parkview Lake Dam	Polk	21 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Clinton Flood Control - May Pond Dam	Clinton	21 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Clinton Flood Control - Springvalley Pond Dam	Clinton	21 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Bamboo Ridge Lake	Black Hawk	20 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Scott Blvd Dam	Johnson	20 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Fieldstone Addition Dam	Black Hawk	19 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
South Ridge Estates - East Dam	Sioux	17 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Sw Branch Dry Run Creek Stormwater Detention Dam	Black Hawk	17 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Coralville Dam - Amana Remedial Works	Iowa	17 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Clinton Flood Control - First Congregational Church Dam	Clinton	16 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Ames Basin #2	Story	13 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Carroll Stormwater Detention Dam	Carroll	13 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Red Rock Dam - Carlisle Remedial Works	Polk	13 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Ames Basin #4	Story	12 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Ames Basin #3	Story	10 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction