Missouri Basin and Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas Gulf Regions

Fresno Safety of Dams

This web site was developed to provide information on the ongoing efforts by Reclamation to modify Fresno Dam under the Safety of Dams Act.

Program Overview

Fresno Dam construction was completed in 1939 as an irrigation storage facility under the greater Milk River Project. Fresno was authorized under the National Industrial Recovery Act and was approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in August 1935, pursuant to the acts of June 25, 1910, and December 5, 1924. In addition to providing irrigation water to the Milk River Project, Fresno Dam provides incidental benefits for flood control and recreation.

Fresno Dam, located on the Milk River 14 miles west of Havre, Montana, is a compacted earthfill dam with a structural height of 110 feet and a crest length of 2,070 feet. It contains 2,105,000 cubic yards of material. An overflow-type spillway at the north end of the dam provides for a maximum flow of 51,360 cubic feet per second through the concrete-lined channel. The outlet works discharge a maximum of 2,500 cubic feet per second through two 72-inch conduits. Total conservation storage of 91,746 acre-feet is impounded in Fresno Reservoir.

Reclamation initiated a Safety of Dams Corrective Action Study in April 2017 in response to identification by the Reclamation Dam Safety Program of dam failure risks above Reclamation’s Public Protection Guidelines. Historical settlement of the Fresno Dam foundation and lack of current state of the practice dam filter and seepage collection system are driving these concerns. In addition, to ensure risks are as low as reasonably practicable, an incidental effort to add spillway joint state-of-the-art defensive measures was added to the dam safety project. Interim measures including increased visual inspections and stockpiling of filter materials at the dam have been implemented. There are currently no operational restrictions at Fresno Dam.

Current Status

NW Construction has completed all work on the embankment portion of the project. This construction work was finished and formally closed out in March 2026.

Design work for the concrete spillway repair has transitioned to Reclamation's Technical Service Center (TSC), which is now responsible for advancing and completing the design. The TSC team is reviewing the previous 90% design and refining it to improve constructability and address project risks identified during evaluation. The spillway repair project includes modernization of the spillway joints, with planned repairs to add rebar reinforcement across joints, installing waterstops, and completing underdrain repairs. These improvements will bring the spillway up to modern standards and to protect the population and property downstream.

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