Tallest Dams in Iowa

Iowa has 4124 dams with recorded heights. The tallest is Saylorville Dam at 125 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	Saylorville Dam	Polk	125	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1975
2	County Basin Dam	Guthrie	104	Earth		Significant	2006
3	Rathbun Dam	Appanoose	100	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1969
4	Brushy Creek Dam	Webster	100	Earth	Recreation	High	1998
5	Gibson South - Dredge Spoil Disposal	Guthrie	95	Earth	Other	Significant	1999
6	Big Creek Terminal Dam	Polk	95	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	Low	1972
7	Des Moines County Roadgrade Dam 18-70-2	Des Moines	84	Earth	Irrigation	Low	1987
8	Big Creek Barrier Dam	Polk	84	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1974
9	North Pigeon Cr Watershed Site 11-1	Pottawattamie	81	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1978
10	Big Creek Diversion Dam	Polk	80	Gravity	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1970
11	Maffitt Reservoir Dam	Dallas	79	Earth	Water Supply	High	1944
12	Pony Creek Watershed Site 21	Mills	75	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1971
13	Lost Grove Lake	Scott	75	Earth	Recreation	High	2012
14	Pleasant Creek Lake Dam	Linn	73	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1977
15	Waubonsie Cr. Watershed Site 11-1	Mills	71	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant	1977
16	Lake Panorama Dam	Guthrie	70	Earth	Recreation	Significant	1969
17	Waubonsie Cr. Watershed Site 3-8	Mills	69	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Significant	1989
18	Viking Lake Dam	Montgomery	69	Earth	Recreation	Significant	1957
19	Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-3	Woodbury	69	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1978
20	Pattison Dam	Clayton	68	Earth	Other	Low	2008
21	Croy Subwatershed Site M-10500	Monona	67	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1952
22	Horse Lake Dam	Plymouth	67	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Significant	1963
23	Sun Valley Lake Dam	Ringgold	67	Earth	Other	Significant	1971
24	Iris Lake Dam	Fayette	66	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	2004
25	Harrison County Roadgrade Dam 18-79-43	Harrison	66	Earth	Other	Significant	1959
26	Waubonsie Cr. Watershed Site 3-11	Mills	66	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1989
27	North Pigeon Cr Watershed Site 17	Pottawattamie	66	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1973
28	Twelve Mile Creek Watershed Site M-1	Union	66	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1983
29	West Beaver Subwatershed Sta 23+45 #a	Monona	65	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1961
30	Indian Creek Watershed Site 2	Pottawattamie	65	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1975
31	North Pigeon Cr Watershed Site 15	Pottawattamie	65	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1978
32	Mathes	Des Moines	64	Earth	Recreation	Low	1941
33	Pony Creek Watershed Site 23	Mills	64	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1964
34	Upper Beaver Subwatershed Site 6-1	Monona	64	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1967
35	North Pigeon Cr Watershed Site 13	Pottawattamie	64	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1978
36	Smokey Hollow Subwatershed Site 4	Woodbury	64	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1985
37	Bacon Creek Watershed Site A-2	Woodbury	64	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Low	1978
38	Doran Dam	Boone	63	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1971
39	Iowa Noname86	Fremont	63	Earth	Other	Low	1976
40	Indian Creek Watershed Site 12	Pottawattamie	63	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1975
41	Three Mile Reservoir Dam	Union	63	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant	1995
42	Boustead/coenen/pryor Dam	Harrison	62	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1965
43	Pony Creek Watershed Site 8a	Mills	62	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1966
44	Pony Creek Watershed Site 17	Mills	62	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1965
45	North Pigeon Cr Watershed Site M-1	Pottawattamie	62	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	Significant	1993
46	Little River Watershed Site M-1	Decatur	61	Earth	Flood Risk Reduction	High	1984
47	Zaiser Dam	Des Moines	61	Earth	Recreation	High	2010
48	Mill Picayune Watershed Site M-2-1	Harrison	61	Earth	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond	Low	1967
49	Iowa Noname49	Sioux	61	Earth	Other	Low	1966
50	Big Hollow Dam	Des Moines	60	Earth	Recreation	Significant	2008

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