USACE South Pacific Division

For National Dam Safety Awareness Day, let’s take a closer look at the South Pacific Division’s dam portfolio. While many of these dams provide added benefits like recreation and hydropower, the primary mission for these projects is flood risk management, standing ready to reduce flood risk to downstream communities.

📍Our dams are spread across 5 states and cover a huge geographic footprint. The two farthest dams in the portfolio, Coyote Valley Dam in California and Two Rivers Dam in New Mexico, are over 1,100 miles apart!
📍The 46 dams in the portfolio can collectively store nearly 17 million acre-feet of water. To That is enough water to fill more than 8.5 million Olympic-sized swimming pools!
📍This is a legacy portfolio with an average age of 67 years. The oldest structure, the Haines Canyon Debris Dam in Los Angeles, has been reliably in service since 1938.
📍The tallest dam in the portfolio is Pine Flat Dam in Fresno County, Ca. It stands at an impressive 424 feet tall -- which is taller than a 40-story skyscraper!

To learn more about dam safety and the dams in your area, visit the National Inventory of Dams: https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/

May 31 is National Dam Safety Awareness Day commemorating the failure of the South Fork Dam in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1889, resulting in the loss of life of 2,220 people.
Dams play a crucial role in managing water for flood risk, power generation, environmental conservation, and recreation, but none are risk free.

Dam safety programs, like the one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, help federal, state, and local stakeholders responsible for dams monitor them and follow best safety practices.

To learn more about dam safety and the dams in your area, visit the National Inventory of Dams: https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/

What do penguins, Taylor Swift, and honeybees have in common? The number 17! That also happens to be the number of dams U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District owns and operates in California. Check out this post to read about their commitment to dam safety as we prepare to commemorate Dam Safety Awareness Day tomorrow.

What do penguins, Taylor Swift, and honeybees have in common? The number 17! That also happens to be the number of dams we own and operate right here in California. Here are a few other fun things that share the number 17:

🐧 Species of penguins in the world.
🎶 Track list of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department (if you include a bonus track).
🪲 Years some cicadas spend underground before emerging.
✍️ Syllables in a traditional haiku.
🐝States whose official state insect is the European Honeybee.
😊Muscles it takes to smile.

To us, 17 represents our commitment to dam safety. We work hard to keep dams safe and partnerships are key to planning ahead and working together to keep people out of harm’s way.

Flood inundation maps, like those available on the National Inventory of Dams, are a tool to help us understand flooding potential and design safety strategies with others.

To learn more about dams near you, visit the National Inventory of Dams, https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/

May is Dam Safety Awareness Month! Did you know that in some areas within our region, we rely heavily on “dry dams” to protect millions of residents in urban areas?

Dry dams may look like sports fields, golf courses or natural habitats. They remain virtually empty 99 percent of the time. They are designed to catch violent, sudden urban runoff, hold it temporarily, and drain completely once the storm passes.

Some examples are Sepulveda Dam, Santa Fe Dam and Hansen Dam, all in the greater Los Angeles region. These dry dams act as massive urban parks and will even serve as event venues for the Olympics!

Learn more about San Francisco District, US Army Corps of Engineers Warm Springs Dam during !

📷IN THE PHOTO
If you are traveling through Lake Sonoma, chances are you will cross the yellow-painted Warm Springs Dam Creek Bridge, one of the largest cantilever spans in California at 752 feet. It was built in 1973 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers San Francisco District and helped pave the way for construction of Warm Springs Dam a decade later. The rolled-earth embankment dam (in the photo’s background) stands at 319 feet high, slightly higher than the Statue of Liberty🗽, spans 3,000 feet long and is 30 feet wide at the crest. The bridge and dam are just two of the many highlights you will find at your next visit to Lake Sonoma. Stop by the Milt Brandt Visitor Center at the park’s entrance to learn more.


USACE South Pacific Division

RECOVERY IN ACTION
One month after Super Typhoon Sinlaku, along with federal and local CNMI partners are working critical missions to help communities recover.
Check out the mission progress in Saipan, Rota and Tinian as of May 22, 2026.

TEMPORARY POWER
✅ 123 generators installed providing temporary power to keep critical facilities running.

DEBRIS REMOVAL
✅ 11.8K total cubic yards of storm debris collected.

STRONG ROOF
✅ 73 temporary roofs installed and protecting homes.
✅ 852 residents approved for roof assistance.

CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
✅ Providing 18 new modular classrooms at Northern Marianas College.

Pacific Ocean Division, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers | USACE South Pacific Division | U.S. Army Pacific | U.S. Army | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Headquarters | CNMI Office of the Governor & Lt. Governor | Rota Public Information Office | Office of the Mayor of Tinian and Aguiguan | FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency

D**e 1 near Granite Bay Beach at Folsom Lake is officially complete and the surrounding roads & trails are now OPEN just in time for summer! 🙌



D**e 1 was raised 3.5 feet to help improve flood risk management for our community.



Thank you to our partners California State Parks , , Bureau of Reclamation, Central Valley Flood Protection Board, and Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency.

Today and throughout the year take time to remember the lives lost fighting for our freedom.