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This dam was built to store water for irrigation. That explains why it doesn't have a powerhouse. There is such little flow in the river that they want every drop to go into the fields rather than down the river. In fact, there is so little water that the Milk River Project also
diverts water from the St. Mary River into the Milk River watershed.
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usbr
"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 flow of 51,360 cubic feet per second through the concrete-lined channel. The outlet works discharge a maximum of 2,180 cubic feet per second through two 72-inch steel pipe outlet tubes. A conservation storage of 127,200 acre-feet is impounded in Fresno Reservoir. Provision also is made for flood control benefits." |
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usbr
"Fresno Dam is located in a valley, which the Milk River has cut in sandstone and shales of the Judith River formation (Upper Cretaceous). The strata of the Judith River formation dip gently east-word and are frequently of the lenticular nature. Foundation is river silts and gravel in riverbed, irregularly cemented, leaky Fresno sandstone in right abutment; sandstone underlain by impervious and fairly stable Sprague shale in left abutment." |
I found some construction photos. Note that the caption contains a date and the photos are in chronological order. Unfortunately, they offer no explanation for their photos.
It appears that they are replacing some incompetent ground in the abutment in this photo.
And grouting the foundation of the dam. Or is this geotech testing?
The drilling effort has ramped up.
Improved drainage? Or another test?
They have added some hills at the top of the dam. I wonder what they are for.
Judging from the dates of Sept. and April, they skipped more than just the winter months. I'm reminded that this dam is close to the Canadian border and that it gets cold up there.
They are removing a lot of dirt at the toe of the dam.
They backfilled the trench they dug in April and have extended the trench further south.
They are backfilling the rest of the trench. Is this a debris pile of what was originally removed from the toe of the dam?
They are grooming the backfilled trench, and the hills at the top of the dam have been removed.
They are also doing some work on the dam next to the spillway.
This is the only entry for 2025. I wonder what they did the rest of the year.
It looks like the rest of 2025 was spent adding a lot more material to the downstream side of the dam.
Nov 2025: The Milk River Project
posted four photos with the comment:
And that’s a wrap! 🎉
NW Construction has just about everything buttoned up, with only a few final items to collect, which means the Fresno Safety of Dams project is officially complete.
Even better — the Tailwater Fishing Access will reopen tomorrow - this Saturday, 11/15/2025! 🎣
Come enjoy the new road and upgraded facilities, and please keep an eye out for crews finishing up as they remove the last pieces of equipment.
Thanks for your patience and support throughout this project — we’re excited to welcome everyone back to their favorite little fishing hole!
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Hopefully, they also fixed these booboos in the spillway.
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nwconstruction
"Built in 1939 on the Milk River in north-central Montana, the 84-year-old homogeneous embankment earth dam has experienced 7‐10 feet of settlement since construction. Reclamation evaluated the risk associated with differential settlement‐driven cracking and internal erosion and determined that a modification was required. To mitigate the risk, NW Construction will add a sand and gravel filter and toe drain system, with an embankment fill overlay and a vertical sand filter trench."
[Homogeneous implies that it doesn't have a clay core. I guess the US Bureau of Reclamation had yet to learn that lesson in 1939. I hope they did not slurry the materials into the dam. That was another big mistake the USBR used to make.] |
A satellite caught the construction while it had the hills on the top of the dam.
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