Willow Creek Dam (Oregon)

Willow Creek Dam
Willow Creek Dam and Willow Creek Lake
Location	Morrow County, Oregon, U.S.
Coordinates	45°20′49″N 119°32′41″W / 45.34695°N 119.54463°W / 45.34695; -119.54463
Construction began	1979
Opening date	1983
Construction cost	$37,231,332 (as of June 18, 1997)[1]
Operator(s)	U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Willow Creek
Height	160 feet (49 m)
Reservoir
Creates	Willow Creek Lake
Total capacity	gross 13,250 acre-feet (16,340,000 m3) usable 9,765 acre-feet (12,045,000 m3)
Catchment area	96 square miles (250 km2)
Surface area	126 acres (51 ha) max 95 acres (38 ha) min[1]

Willow Creek Dam is a dam in Morrow County of the U.S. state of Oregon, located just east of Heppner's city limits. It was the first major dam in the United States constructed of roller-compacted concrete.^[2]

The dam's drainage basin is 96 square miles (250 km²)^[3] of arid rolling hills in the lower basin but with headwaters in the northern Umatilla National Forest. The dam's original purpose was primarily to store water for flood control, but also to serve recreation, fish and wildlife, and irrigation uses.^[3] The dam impounds Willow Creek to create Willow Creek Lake.

The lake level can be a maximum of 2,113.5 feet (644.2 m) elevation and a minimum of 2,063.0 feet (628.8 m) for a total usable storage capacity of 9,765 acre-feet (12,045,000 m³).^[3]