Yerington Mill Dam

About Yerington Mill Dam

The primary purpose of Yerington Mill Dam 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 Arimetco Inc. (private). It impounds the Walker River-os near Schurz.

The dam stands 90 feet tall and stretches 100 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 100 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 1,166 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 0 square miles.

This dam has a significant hazard potential classification, meaning that a failure could cause significant economic damage — flooding roads, bridges, or property downstream — but is not expected to result in loss of life. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 11/15/2021.

At 90 feet, this dam is taller than 98% of all dams in the United States.

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