Purpose
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Program can be traced to the National Dam Inspection Act of 1972 (Public Law 92-367). The Dam Safety Program has been updated numerous times, including via the National Dam Safety Program Act of 2020 (Public Law 116-260) and 33 USC 467. Most elements of the program still closely abide by the Federal Guidelines for Dam Safety (1979), with the most notable development in the last decade related to risk assessments to better prioritize actions and communicate the safety status of dams. The overlying purpose of dam safety is to ensure the integrity and viability of dams such that they do not present unacceptable risks to the public, property, and the environment.
Description
The Dam Safety Program focuses on inspections and risk assessments. Inspections include a routine program of surveillance and monitoring that includes soundings, surveys, measurements with special instrumentation, divings, and camera inspections. Most dams owned and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been inspected on 5-year intervals, although new guidance will transition inspections for low-hazard dams to 10-year intervals. Low-hazard dams in Minnesota include the Sandy, Gull, Reservation, Watson Sag, and Highway 75 dams. The inspections and risk assessments inform and help prioritize repair and rehabilitation needs.
Status
In 2023, rehabilitation projects that included new spillway gates and related upgrades of the Sandy Lake and Lac qui Parle dams were finished. A contract was awarded in 2025 for spillway armoring at Lac qui Parle Dam. Funding requests were submitted for fiscal year 2027 for spillway rehabilitation at Marsh Lake Dam; bridge deck and gate modernization at White Rock Dam; rehabilitation at the Pokegama, Leech and Gull Lake dams; and various programmatic improvements on the Mississippi River.
Dams in St. Paul District Portfolio
The dams in the St. Paul District that are federally authorized, operated, and maintained in Minnesota are as follows:
Mississippi River Headwaters — Leech Lake Dam, Winnibigoshish Dam, Pokegama Dam, Pine River Dam (Cross Lake), Gull Lake Dam, and Sandy Lake Dam
Orwell Dam
Lac qui Parle Project — Lac qui Parle Dam, Marsh Lake Dam, Chippewa Diversion, and Watson Sag Weir
Big Stone Project — Highway 75 Dam
Traverse Project — White Rock Dam, Reservation Dam, and Browns Valley Dike
Mississippi River — Upper St. Anthony Falls, Lower St. Anthony Falls, Lock and Dam 1 (Minneapolis), Lock and Dam 2 (Hastings), Lock and Dam 3 (Red Wing), Lock and Dam 5 (Winona), and Lock and Dam 7 (LaCrescent)
See the National Inventory of Dams for more information: https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/