Geez ... that “Lake Tangipahoa” dam in the Mississippi State Park named after Percy (Edwards) Quin (a US Conresscritter) is “a dirt dam erected with wheel barrows and shovels” built by the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corp) has a dubious history.
In 1942, a couple years after completion it ‘broke’ and had to be rebuilt (after it remained dry for 3 intervening years!) ... an article in the 1942 National Geographic documents this:
My greataunt had a piece of really beautiful property when I was little with a dirt wall dam that created a small, maybe 10 acre pond. In 1990, the Augusta area flooded and the dam collapsed. The property was ruined and she passed away a couple of years later. Consequently, Augusta itself is protected by an old dirt levee.