Orwell-danube East Tailings Basin

Orwell-danube East Tailings Basin is an earth dam located in Itasca County, Minnesota, built in 1954. It carries a Low hazard potential classification.

About Orwell-danube East Tailings Basin

The primary purpose of Orwell-danube East Tailings Basin is tailings. Tailings dams contain waste material from mining operations — typically a slurry of finely ground rock left over after valuable minerals have been extracted. These structures require ongoing monitoring because tailings can contain heavy metals and other contaminants. The dam is owned by Magnetation (private). It impounds the Prairie River-os near Local Residents.

The dam stands 40 feet tall and stretches 2,000 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 7 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 147 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1954, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years old.

This dam has a low hazard potential classification, meaning that failure would cause minimal damage, limited primarily to the dam owner's property, with no expected loss of life. The most recent inspection on record was 06/03/2016.

At 40 feet, this dam is taller than 87% of dams nationwide.

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Low HazardNot Rated ConditionEmergency Action Plan: Not Required

Location

StateMinnesota
CountyItasca
Nearest CityLocal Residents
River/StreamPrairie River-os
Coordinates47.34683, -93.40990

Physical Characteristics

Dam TypeEarth
NID Height40 ft
Dam Height40 ft
Dam Length2,000 ft
Year Completed1954 (72 years old)

Storage & Hydraulics

NID Storage147 acre-ft
Max Storage147 acre-ft
Normal Storage88 acre-ft
Surface Area7 acres
Drainage Area1 sq mi
Max Discharge75 cfs
Spillway TypeUncontrolled

Ownership & Safety

PurposeTailings
OwnerMagnetation
Owner TypePrivate
Hazard ClassificationLow
Condition AssessmentNot Rated
Last Inspection06/03/2016
Emergency Action PlanNot Required

Identifiers

NID IDMN00793
Federal IDMN00793
More InfoState Dam Safety Program

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