About EAPs

Where are High-Hazard Potential Dams?

Residents near
a High-Hazard
Potential dam
should find
out if it has
an Emergency
Action Plan.

HHP dams are scattered across Missouri, although 30 of the state's 114 counties do not have any HHP dams. To view maps of where HHP dams are located see the DNR WRC Dams of Missouri website maps. The site includes a list of dams by county that shows the dam's numerical hazard class. That list is provided to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for the National Inventory of Dams (NID). Dams on this list that are regulated by the state are highlighted in purple. Unregulated dams generally are shorter than 35 feet in height or are agricultural or federal.

The website also has maps of dams by Missouri legislative districts which show the locations of HHP dams. A shorter list of just the dams that are regulated by Missouri DNR is posted online.

The DNR dam maps website provides several ways to locate and identify dams and their hazard classification. For example, select a county map, enlarge the map and find the dam of interest, along with its Missouri Identification number. You can then call up the Missouri Dam Report by County and use that identification number to search for additional information about that dam, such as when it was built, its height, length and the number of acres of water it impounds, and whether it is regulated and its state permit number.

Knowing where a HHP dam is located that may impact your home, business, or favorite recreational area is important. But knowing the boundaries of the "hazard area" also is important. This information may not be clearly defined unless there is an EAP for that dam. A thorough EAP will include an "inundation map" that shows the hazard area.

2008 Missouri
Dam Hazard Analysis

County	Total Dams	HHP Dams
Franklin County	145	20
Greene County	18	8
Jackson County	81	28
Jefferson County	147	58
St. Charles county	122	18
St. Francois County	63	19
Warren County	133	28
Washington County	118	47

SEMA published a Missouri Hazard Analysis in December 2012 that includes a summary of dam failure hazards. The hazard analysis includes a table showing total number of dams by county and number in each hazard classification. For example, in the SEMA count Franklin County had 137 dams (see chart).

SEMA noted that "many of these dams are becoming a greater hazard as they continue to age and deteriorate. While hundreds of them need to be rehabilitated, lack of funding and questions of ownership loom as obstacles."

Even dams that fall under the jurisdiction of DNR can be a problem when ownership of the dam is unknown. One example cited by SEMA is Silver Creek Dam east of Rockaway Beach in Taney County. The state does not know who owns that dam, but concern about its safety is mounting. Erosion is eating away at the 40-foot-high dam. At one end of the dam is a barren clay bank that could give away during a heavy rainstorm. The state plans to repair the dam and send a bill to the owner when identified.