Prairie Cr. No. A-4-1 (fisher)

About Prairie Cr. No. A-4-1 (fisher)

The primary purpose of Prairie Cr. No. A-4-1 (fisher) is flood risk reduction. The dam is designed to control downstream flooding by temporarily storing excess water during storms and releasing it at a controlled rate. The dam is owned by Prairie Creek Daviess Conservancy District (local government). It impounds the North Fork Prairie Creek near Washington.

The dam stands 42 feet tall and stretches 780 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 62 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 4,475 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 13 square miles. Completed in 1963, 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. Its condition is rated fair — the dam has minor deficiencies that are being addressed or do not pose an immediate safety threat. The most recent inspection on record was 01/12/2016. That was over 10 years ago.

At 42 feet, this dam is taller than 89% of dams nationwide.

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