Town Wash Dam

About Town Wash Dam

The primary purpose of Town Wash Dam 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 City Of Mesquite (local government). It impounds the Town Wash near Mesquite.

The dam stands 45 feet tall and stretches 900 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 10 acres, and has a maximum storage capacity of 485 acre-feet. Completed in 1992, the structure is 34 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 fair — the dam has minor deficiencies that are being addressed or do not pose an immediate safety threat. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 02/22/2022.

At 45 feet, this dam is taller than 91% 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 Nevada dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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