Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936 and built by the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sardis Dam began operation in October 1940. Located on the Little Tallahatchie River, the dam contains 16,500,000 cubic yards of material and controls a drainage basin of 1,545 square miles. Using the hydraulic-fill method for construction, the dredge Pontotoc pumped soil from below the dam, creating the 472-acre Lower Lake. At 15,300 feet long and 97 feet high, it is the last major hydraulic-fill dam built in the U.S.
