William Symington Dam

About William Symington Dam

The primary purpose of William Symington Dam is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam is owned by Lake Symington Community Club (private). It impounds the Big Beef Creek.

The dam stands 39 feet tall and stretches 315 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 78 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 1,240 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 6 square miles. Completed in 1965, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years old.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Its condition is rated satisfactory, indicating no existing or potential dam safety deficiencies are recognized. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 04/28/2016. That was 9 years ago, which is on the longer end for a high-hazard structure.

At 39 feet, this dam is taller than 86% of dams nationwide.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The Washington dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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