Oldest Dams in Nebraska

Nebraska has 2952 dams with recorded construction dates. The oldest dates to 1885 — 141 years ago. Nebraska's earliest dams were built in the 19th century, an era of westward expansion, irrigation development, and early water infrastructure. Older dams require particular attention for safety, as many were built before modern engineering standards.

#	Dam	County	Year Built	Age	Height (ft)	Hazard	Condition
1	Kearney Dam	Buffalo	1885	141 yrs	27	High	Satisfactory
2	Champion Mill Dam	Chase	1887	139 yrs	14	Low	Satisfactory
3	Chadron Dam 1	Dawes	1888	138 yrs	40	Low	Poor
4	Lake Helen Dam	Dawson	1891	135 yrs	27	High	Fair
5	Valentine Mill Pond Dam	Cherry	1893	133 yrs	43	High	Poor
6	Pibel Dam	Wheeler	1895	131 yrs	25	Low	Satisfactory
7	Memphis Dam	Saunders	1897	129 yrs	12	Low	Poor
8	Zimmerman Dam	Sioux	1904	122 yrs	14	Low	Poor
9	Arrow Head Dam	Dundy	1905	121 yrs	17	Low	Poor
10	Lake Alice Dam 2	Scotts Bluff	1909	117 yrs	11	Low	Not Available
11	Pine Canyon Dam	Brown	1910	116 yrs	35	Low	Fair
12	Holmesville Power Plant Dam	Gage	1910	116 yrs	22	Low	Satisfactory
13	Oliver Dam	Kimball	1910	116 yrs	48	High	Satisfactory
14	Squaw Creek Dam	Dawes	1911	115 yrs	25	Low	Not Rated
15	Blue Bluffs Dam	Seward	1911	115 yrs	27	Low	Fair
16	Kilpatrick Dam	Box Butte	1912	114 yrs	26	Low	Poor
17	Lake Alice Dam 1	Scotts Bluff	1912	114 yrs	44	High	Not Available
18	Lake Alice Dam 1-1/2	Scotts Bluff	1913	113 yrs	33	High	Not Available
19	Minatare Dam	Scotts Bluff	1915	111 yrs	114	High	Not Available
20	Ericson Dam	Wheeler	1916	110 yrs	33	Low	Poor
21	Imperial Dam	Chase	1917	109 yrs	21	Low	Poor
22	Whitney Dam 1	Dawes	1922	104 yrs	19	Low	Poor
23	Norman Dam	Dawes	1927	99 yrs	40	Significant	Fair
24	Mcdowell Dam 1	Dawes	1929	97 yrs	17	Low	Fair
25	Plzett Dam	Sioux	1929	97 yrs	18	Low	Fair
26	Henry Dam 2	Sioux	1930	96 yrs	13	Low	Satisfactory
27	Wellfleet Dam	Lincoln	1931	95 yrs	24	Low	Fair
28	Wickersham Dam	Sioux	1931	95 yrs	25	Low	Poor
29	Shepherd Dam	Sioux	1931	95 yrs	17	Low	Poor
30	Dout Dam 1	Sioux	1931	95 yrs	26	Significant	Poor
31	Klasna Dam	Boyd	1932	94 yrs	29	Low	Satisfactory
32	Schaefer Dam 1	Sioux	1933	93 yrs	18	Low	Poor
33	Rock Creek Dam	Dundy	1934	92 yrs	40	Low	Satisfactory
34	Nikont Dam	Box Butte	1935	91 yrs	12	Low	Satisfactory
35	Phillips Dam	Box Butte	1935	91 yrs	12	Low	Satisfactory
36	Lambie Dam	Clay	1935	91 yrs	12	Low	Poor
37	Alcorn Dam	Dawes	1935	91 yrs	15	Significant	Poor
38	Beasley Dam	Deuel	1935	91 yrs	10	Low	Not Rated
39	James Dam 407	Franklin	1935	91 yrs	23	Significant	Not Rated
40	Mccue North Dam	Furnas	1935	91 yrs	24	Low	Poor
41	Kugler Dam 1171	Hitchcock	1935	91 yrs	19	Low	Fair
42	Keystone Diversion	Keith	1935	91 yrs	20	Low	Satisfactory
43	Korty Diversion	Keith	1935	91 yrs	15	Low	Satisfactory
44	Maloney	Lincoln	1935	91 yrs	44	High	Satisfactory
45	Sutherland	Lincoln	1935	91 yrs	30	High	Satisfactory
46	Halsey Dam	Red Willow	1935	91 yrs	21	Low	Satisfactory
47	Vanvleet Dam	Red Willow	1935	91 yrs	17	Low	Satisfactory
48	Smith Dam 1191	Red Willow	1935	91 yrs	18	Low	Satisfactory
49	Lothrop Dam	Saline	1935	91 yrs	24	Significant	Poor
50	Carter P Johnson Dam	Sioux	1935	91 yrs	35	High	Poor

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