Dams in South Dakota

2,541 damsAvg age: 67 years

High Hazard

149

Significant

2,307

Low Hazard

Dam Safety in South Dakota

South Dakota has 2,541 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 85 (3%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 149 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 34 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in South Dakota is 67 years old. As dams age, inspection frequency and maintenance become increasingly important for ensuring public safety. The most common purpose for dams in South Dakota is fire protection, stock, or small fish pond, accounting for 1,852 of the state's dams.

The federal inventory is not every dam in South Dakota. It includes dams rated high or significant hazard, plus low-hazard dams above a size threshold (taller than 25 feet holding more than 15 acre-feet, or taller than 6 feet holding more than 50 acre-feet). Small, older dams below that line are usually left out, even though they can still shape the streams around them. The state's own dam safety program often tracks many more, and it is the agency that inspects most of them.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in South Dakota, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

South Dakota Dam Facts

Total Dams	2,541
High Hazard Dams	85
Average Dam Age	67 years
Tallest Dam	380 ft
Largest Reservoir	23,600,000 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	34

Notable Dams in South Dakota

Grizzly Gulch Tailings Dam380 ftHigh Oahe Dam - Fort Yates Flood Protection Project245 ftHigh Big Bend Dam205 ftHigh Angostura Dam193 ftHigh Deerfield Dam171 ftHigh

Explore South Dakota Dams

Oldest DamsEarliest dams in South Dakota Tallest DamsHighest dams in South Dakota

Counties in South Dakota

Aurora8 dams Beadle9 dams Bennett12 dams2 high hazard Bon Homme14 dams Brookings8 dams Brown13 dams3 high hazard Brule24 dams1 high hazard Buffalo34 dams1 high hazard Butte31 dams1 high hazard Campbell19 dams Charles Mix20 dams1 high hazard Clark6 dams Clay5 dams Codington3 dams Corson74 dams1 high hazard Custer33 dams7 high hazard Davison4 dams1 high hazard Day3 dams Deuel2 dams Dewey105 dams2 high hazard Douglas1 dams1 high hazard Edmunds6 dams Fall River71 dams3 high hazard Faulk13 dams2 high hazard Grant13 dams1 high hazard Gregory20 dams1 high hazard Haakon207 dams4 high hazard Hamlin4 dams Hand16 dams1 high hazard Hanson3 dams Harding131 dams1 high hazard Hughes34 dams2 high hazard Hutchinson9 dams1 high hazard Hyde37 dams1 high hazard Jackson85 dams1 high hazard Jerauld3 dams Jones253 dams Kingsbury5 dams Lake6 dams Lawrence11 dams4 high hazard Lincoln13 dams Lyman67 dams1 high hazard Marshall30 dams McCook6 dams McPherson9 dams Meade177 dams5 high hazard Mellette191 dams2 high hazard Miner1 dams Minnehaha16 dams Moody7 dams Oglala Lakota6 dams4 high hazard Pennington118 dams12 high hazard Perkins155 dams2 high hazard Potter41 dams Roberts22 dams Sioux1 dams1 high hazard Spink4 dams1 high hazard Stanley83 dams Sully22 dams Todd18 dams9 high hazard Tripp46 dams1 high hazard Turner3 dams Union12 dams Walworth24 dams Yankton6 dams1 high hazard Ziebach108 dams3 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in South Dakota

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Grizzly Gulch Tailings Dam	Lawrence	380 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
Oahe Dam - Fort Yates Flood Protection Project	Sioux	245 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Big Bend Dam	Lyman	205 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Angostura Dam	Fall River	193 ft	Not assessed	Irrigation
Deerfield Dam	Pennington	171 ft	Not assessed	Fish and Wildlife Pond
Fort Randall Dam	Charles Mix	170 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Shadehill Dam	Perkins	145 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Sheridan Lake	Pennington	134 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Cold Brook Dam	Fall River	130 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Cottonwood Springs Dam	Fall River	123 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Belle Fourche Dam	Butte	122 ft	Not assessed	Irrigation
Pactola Dike 1	Pennington	115 ft	Not assessed
Horsethief Lake	Pennington	65 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Oglala	Oglala Lakota	62 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Marindahl	Yankton	58 ft	Poor	Recreation
Center Lake Dam	Custer	56 ft	Fair	Recreation
Mitchell	Davison	55 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Stockade Lake Dam	Custer	53 ft	Fair	Recreation
Menno Dam	Hutchinson	53 ft	Fair	Recreation
Richmond	Brown	52 ft	Poor	Recreation
Elm Lake Dam	Brown	52 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Indian Scout	Todd	50 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Willow Creek	Brown	49 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Lakota	Custer	47 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Ghost Hawk	Todd	47 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Fourth Street Dam	Hughes	43 ft	Fair	Recreation
Red Dale Gulch	Pennington	42 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Beaulieu	Tripp	41 ft	Fair	Recreation
Iron Cr Lake	Lawrence	41 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
He Dog	Todd	41 ft	Satisfactory	Irrigation
Bismark Lake	Custer	40 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Rank Dam	Buffalo	40 ft	Poor	Recreation
Faulkton Dam	Faulk	39 ft	Fair	Recreation
Standing Rock No. 1	Corson	39 ft	Fair	Recreation
Legion Lake Dam	Custer	38 ft	Fair	Recreation
Sylvan Lake Dam	Custer	37 ft	Fair	Recreation
Kyle	Oglala Lakota	37 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Rosebud	Todd	37 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Deerfield Park	Pennington	36 ft	Fair	Recreation
Red Owl	Meade	36 ft	Fair	Recreation
Parmelee	Todd	36 ft	Fair	Recreation
White Clay	Oglala Lakota	35 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Bruning No.1	Mellette	34 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Ring Thunder	Todd	33 ft	Fair	Recreation
Durkee	Meade	32 ft	Fair	Recreation
Lake Corsica Dam	Douglas	32 ft	Poor	Recreation
Gardner Lake Dam	Harding	32 ft	Fair	Recreation
Little White River Dam	Bennett	32 ft	Fair	Fish and Wildlife Pond
Mitchell Lake	Pennington	31 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Canyon Lake Dam	Pennington	31 ft	Fair	Irrigation
Brueschke Dam	Dewey	31 ft	Fair	Recreation
Brooks Dam	Haakon	30 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
King Dam No. 1	Haakon	30 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Isabel	Dewey	30 ft	Fair	Recreation
Redfield Lake	Spink	30 ft	Poor	Recreation
Sully 2	Todd	29 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Kadoka (nid)	Jackson	28 ft	Not assessed	Fish and Wildlife Pond
Capitol Lake Dam	Hughes	27 ft	Fair	Recreation
Wolf Creek	Oglala Lakota	27 ft	Unsatisfactory	Irrigation
Clarence Smith Dam	Ziebach	25 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Antelope	Todd	25 ft	Poor	Recreation
Dalton Lake	Lawrence	24 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Allen	Bennett	24 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Kjerstad No.1	Pennington	22 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Cresbard Dam	Faulk	22 ft	Poor	Recreation
Opal Dam	Meade	22 ft	Fair	Recreation
Howie Dam	Meade	22 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Lake Wanalain Dam	Brule	21 ft	Fair	Recreation
Jones Lake Dam	Hand	21 ft	Fair	Recreation
Mark Fisher Dam	Perkins	21 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Bud Young Section 3	Ziebach	21 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Ambrose	Hyde	21 ft	Poor	Recreation
Rod & Gun	Lawrence	20 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Corn Creek	Mellette	20 ft	Unsatisfactory	Irrigation
Bednar Dam	Ziebach	19 ft	Poor	Recreation
King Dam No. 2	Haakon	18 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Kroetch Dam	Haakon	18 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Major Lake	Pennington	18 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
C. Vansickel	Meade	17 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
South Okreek	Todd	17 ft	Fair	Recreation
Kjerstad Dam No.3	Pennington	15 ft	Fair	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Farley Lake Dam	Grant	15 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Ponca Right Dike	Gregory	15 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Kjerstad Dam No. 2	Pennington	14 ft	Poor	Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond
Custer West	Custer	13 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation