Tallest Dams in Illinois

Illinois has 1609 dams with recorded heights. The tallest is Refuse Disposal Area at 175 feet. Taller dams impound more water and carry greater potential energy, which is why height is a key factor in hazard classification and inspection requirements.

#	Dam	County	Height (ft)	Type	Purpose	Hazard	Year
1	Refuse Disposal Area	Saline	175	Earth	Water Supply	Significant
2	Shelbyville Dam	Shelby	138	Concrete	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1970
3	Duck Creek Station Dams	Fulton	123	Earth	Other	High	1975
4	Devil`s Kitchen Dam	Williamson	121	Gravity	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High	1959
5	Sugar Camp/mine 1/north Refuse Disposal Facility Dam	Franklin	117	Earth	Tailings	High
6	Macoupin Energy Refuse Disposal Area 6	Macoupin	117	Earth	Tailings	High	1991
7	Thorton Quarry Gap Dam	Cook	116	Concrete	Flood Risk Reduction	High	2013
8	American Coal/galatia/bunkhouse Rdf Dam	Saline	110	Earth	Other	High
9	International Coal/viper/slurry Impoundment	Logan	109	Earth	Other	High	1984
10	Coffeen Gmf Gypsum Stack Dam	Montgomery	108	Earth	Debris Control	High
11	Arclar/willow Lake/refuse Area 2 Dam	Saline	108	Earth	Tailings	High
12	International Coal/viper/north Slurry Impoundment Dam	Logan	105	Earth	Other	High
13	Consol/rend Lake Mine/slurry Cell 2 Dam	Jefferson	100	Earth	Other	High	1998
14	Kinkaid Lake Dam	Jackson	96	Earth	Recreation	High	1972
15	Macoupin Energy/refuse Disposal Area 5	Macoupin	95	Earth	Other	High	1987
16	American Coal/galatia/slurry Pond Dam	Saline	95	Earth	Other	Low	1993
17	Farmdale Dam	Tazewell	90	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1951
18	Williamson Energy/pond Creek Mine/refuse Disposal Facility	Williamson	88	Rockfill	Other	High
19	Little Grassy Dam	Williamson	88	Earth	Fish and Wildlife Pond	High	1942
20	Sugar Camp/mine 1/coal Refuse Disposal 1 Dam	Franklin	86	Earth	Tailings	High
21	Lake Thunderbird Dam	Putnam	86	Earth	Recreation	High	1970
22	Lake Petersburg Dam	Menard	85	Earth	Recreation	High	1961
23	Wildwood Lake Dam	Marshall	84	Earth	Recreation	High	1969
24	East Fork Lake Dam	Richland	84	Earth	Recreation	High	1972
25	Mill Creek Structure 1 Dam	Clark	81	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant	1980
26	Lake Mcmaster Dam	Knox	81	Earth	Recreation	High	1981
27	Jerry F. Costello Lock And Dam	Randolph	81	Concrete	Navigation	Significant	1974
28	Hillsboro Energy/deer Run/crd 1 Dam	Montgomery	80	Earth	Tailings	High
29	Illinois Power Company Lake Dam	Vermilion	80	Earth	Recreation	Low	1954
30	Apple Canyon Lake Dam	Jo Daviess	78	Rockfill	Recreation	High	1978
31	Lake George Dam	Rock Island	78	Earth	Recreation	High	1962
32	Hillboro Energy/deer Run/crd 2 Dam	Montgomery	77	Earth	Other	High
33	Knight Hawk/prairie Eagle/slurry 012c Dam	Perry	77	Earth	Other	Significant	2016
34	Melvin Price Locks And Dam	St. Charles	77	Concrete	Navigation	Significant	1990
35	Hamilton County Coal/hamilton County/coal Refuse 2 Dam	Hamilton	76	Earth	Other	High	2016
36	Arentsen Pond Dam	Hamilton	75	Earth	Other	High	1992
37	Consol/rend Lake Mine/slurry Impoundment 1	Jefferson	75	Earth	Other	High	1993
38	Leroy Hinkle Dam	Carroll	74	Earth	Recreation	High	1974
39	Cedar Lake Dam	Jackson	74	Earth	Recreation	High	1974
40	Spoon Lake Dam	Knox	74	Earth	Recreation	High	1971
41	Fondulac Dam	Tazewell	74	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1949
42	Stonewolf Golf Course Lake Dam	St. Clair	72	Earth	Recreation	High	1998
43	Otter Lake Dam	Macoupin	71	Earth	Recreation	Significant	1969
44	Coffeen Lake Dam	Montgomery	70	Earth	Other	Significant	1964
45	Rocky Run Lake Dam	Hancock	69	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant	1971
46	Evergreen Lake Dam	Woodford	69	Earth	Water Supply	High	1971
47	Prairie Lake Dam	Cass	68	Earth	Recreation	High	1999
48	Village Of Valmeyer Dam	Monroe	68	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Low	1995
49	Olmsted Locks And Dam	Ballard	67	Concrete	Navigation	Significant	2018
50	Deer Ridge Dam	McDonough	67	Earth	Recreation	Low	2000

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