WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Nearly a century ago, the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway built a large dam near Augusta to supply water for the steam locomotives that at the time were chugging across the dusty Kansas prairie.

Today the aging Santa Fe Lake Dam is considered a high-hazard dam because of its potential for the loss of life if it fails. An analysis by The Associated Press of dams across the country has found that it's among more than two dozen potentially dangerous dams in Kansas that are in such poor shape they are vulnerable to failure.

Augusta acquired the Santa Fe Lake Dam, located...