Griggs Dam is located within the Columbus, Ohio city limits, on the Scioto River near Upper Arlington, Ohio, in Franklin County. The dam forms Griggs Reservoir, which is a major source of drinking water for the city of Columbus. Named after the city's chief engineer, Julian Griggs, the dam was completed in 1905 at a cost of $700,000 and was the first major reservoir in the Columbus area. For twenty years, it served as the only reservoir serving the city of Columbus' drinking water needs. Griggs Dam is a gravity dam with a 500-foot-long (150 m) curved concrete spillway. Its height is only 35 feet (11 m), but it forms a reservoir almost 6 miles (9.7 km) long with a 1,200,000,000-US-gallon (4.5×109 l) capacity. US Route 33 runs along the East side of the dam, providing access to the dam and recreation area on both the upstream and downstream sides of the dam.