Dams in Alabama

2,252 damsAvg age: 59 years

216

High Hazard

443

Significant

1,592

Low Hazard

Dam Safety in Alabama

Alabama has 2,252 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 216 (9%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 443 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 6 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in Alabama is 59 years old. The most common purpose for dams in Alabama is recreation, accounting for 1,034 of the state's dams.

The federal inventory is not every dam in Alabama. It includes dams rated high or significant hazard, plus low-hazard dams above a size threshold (taller than 25 feet holding more than 15 acre-feet, or taller than 6 feet holding more than 50 acre-feet). Small, older dams below that line are usually left out, even though they can still shape the streams around them. The state's own dam safety program often tracks many more, and it is the agency that inspects most of them.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in Alabama, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

Alabama Dam Facts

Total Dams	2,252
High Hazard Dams	216
Average Dam Age	59 years
Tallest Dam	300 ft
Largest Reservoir	1,670,600 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	6

Notable Dams in Alabama

Lewis Smith300 ftHigh Wheeler Dam175 ftHigh Walter F. George Lock and Dam171 ftHigh Martin168 ftHigh Miller Steam Plant Ash Pond158 ftLow

Explore Alabama Dams

Oldest DamsEarliest dams in Alabama Tallest DamsHighest dams in Alabama

Counties in Alabama

Autauga15 dams2 high hazard Baldwin23 dams Barbour8 dams Bibb12 dams1 high hazard Blount37 dams19 high hazard Bullock50 dams Butler21 dams Calhoun48 dams7 high hazard Chambers47 dams3 high hazard Cherokee11 dams1 high hazard Chilton21 dams3 high hazard Choctaw8 dams Clarke17 dams Clay27 dams2 high hazard Cleburne40 dams8 high hazard Coffee25 dams4 high hazard Colbert3 dams1 high hazard Conecuh19 dams1 high hazard Coosa19 dams1 high hazard Covington20 dams2 high hazard Crenshaw18 dams1 high hazard Cullman24 dams6 high hazard Dale22 dams2 high hazard Dallas131 dams5 high hazard DeKalb21 dams8 high hazard Early1 dams Elmore30 dams5 high hazard Escambia18 dams1 high hazard Etowah26 dams6 high hazard Fayette13 dams2 high hazard Franklin15 dams4 high hazard Geneva20 dams Greene90 dams Hale239 dams1 high hazard Henry8 dams Houston15 dams2 high hazard Jackson7 dams1 high hazard Jefferson86 dams20 high hazard Lamar12 dams1 high hazard Lauderdale6 dams2 high hazard Lawrence10 dams1 high hazard Lee61 dams6 high hazard Limestone14 dams2 high hazard Lowndes37 dams Macon26 dams2 high hazard Madison14 dams2 high hazard Marengo51 dams1 high hazard Marion13 dams1 high hazard Marshall5 dams1 high hazard Mobile31 dams2 high hazard Monroe15 dams Montgomery100 dams4 high hazard Morgan2 dams Perry84 dams Pickens33 dams1 high hazard Pike21 dams Randolph32 dams1 high hazard Russell38 dams4 high hazard Shelby83 dams23 high hazard St. Clair50 dams2 high hazard Sumter56 dams Talladega42 dams10 high hazard Tallapoosa18 dams1 high hazard Tuscaloosa80 dams26 high hazard Walker14 dams3 high hazard Washington15 dams Wilcox22 dams Winston12 dams1 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in Alabama

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Lewis Smith	Walker	300 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Wheeler Dam	Lauderdale	175 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Walter F. George Lock and Dam	Clay	171 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Martin	Tallapoosa	168 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Logan Martin	St. Clair	142 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Wilson Dam	Lauderdale	137 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Lay	Coosa	130 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Belcher Lumber Company Dam	Shelby	129 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Lake Tuscaloosa Dam	Tuscaloosa	125 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Jordan	Elmore	125 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Holt Lock and Dam	Tuscaloosa	120 ft	Not assessed	Navigation
Tallaseehatchee Creek W/s Dam Site 1	Talladega	114 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
John Hollis Bankhead Lock and Dam	Tuscaloosa	111 ft	Not assessed	Navigation
Mitchell	Chilton	106 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
H. Neely Henry	St. Clair	104 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cedar Creek Dam	Franklin	102 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Bayview Lake	Jefferson	100 ft	Not assessed	Water Supply
Lake Catoma Dam	Cullman	100 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Guntersville Dam	Marshall	94 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Choccolocco Creek W/s Dam Site 6	Calhoun	91 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Weiss - Highway 411 Dike	Cherokee	90 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Little Bear Creek Dam	Franklin	89 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
High Rock Lake - Site 24	Cleburne	88 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Yates	Elmore	87 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Drummond Lake Dam	Jefferson	86 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Tallaseehatchee Creek W/s Dam Site 4	Talladega	86 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Upper Bear Creek Dam	Marion	85 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Manor Lake	Blount	80 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Cheaha Creek W/s Dam Site 6	Talladega	79 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Cheaha Creek W/s Dam Site 5	Talladega	76 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Howard	Talladega	75 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
J.b. Converse Reservoir Dam	Mobile	75 ft	Not assessed	Water Supply
Choccolocco Creek W/s Dam Site 11	Calhoun	75 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Sweetwater Lake - Site 7	Cleburne	74 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Terrapin Creek - Site 31	Cleburne	73 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake George Dam	Cullman	70 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Bear Creek Dam	Franklin	68 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Greenleaf - Choccolocco Site 2	Calhoun	66 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Cumberland Dam	Jefferson	62 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Thurlow	Elmore	62 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Crooked Creek W/s Dam Site 16	Clay	60 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Birmingham Water Service Lake	Jefferson	58 ft	Not assessed	Water Supply
Mump Creek Reservior	Talladega	57 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Point a	Covington	56 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Purdy Dam	Shelby	55 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Highland Lake #2	Shelby	55 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Oak Mountain Old Lake Dam	Shelby	55 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Oak Mountain New Lake Dam	Shelby	54 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Cone Reservoir	Calhoun	53 ft	Unsatisfactory	Recreation
Mt Laurel Lake	Shelby	52 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Blue Eye Creek W/s Dam Site 1	Talladega	51 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Ogletree No 1	Lee	50 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Osborne Lake Dam	Jefferson	49 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Dekalb County Public Lake Dam	DeKalb	48 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Mastersom Mill Lake	Lawrence	47 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Oak Mountain Lake Dam Number Two	Shelby	46 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Cahulga Creek W/s Dam Site 1	Cleburne	46 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Gantt	Covington	44 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Sougahatchee	Lee	43 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Yahou	Calhoun	41 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Birmingham Water Service Lake 2	Jefferson	41 ft	Not assessed	Water Supply
Moon Lake	Russell	40 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Mountain Woods Lake	Blount	40 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
R. L. Harris West Saddle Dike	Randolph	40 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Oak Mountain Lake Dam Number One	Shelby	40 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Hurricane Creek W/s Dam Site 11	Madison	40 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Blue Eye Creek W/s Dam Site 2	Talladega	40 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Beecham Lake	Cleburne	39 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Robin	Talladega	38 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Fort Payne Dam	DeKalb	37 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Alnoname No.1	Tuscaloosa	36 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Haleyville City Lake Dam	Winston	36 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Barber Motorsports Lake	Jefferson	35 ft	Not assessed
Knowels Pond	Russell	35 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Lake Melaken	Shelby	35 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Eva Road Lake	Cullman	35 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Tuskegee City Lake	Macon	33 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Smyers Lake Dam Number One	Shelby	33 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Bristow Creek W/s Dam Site 1	Etowah	33 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Vista	Jefferson	32 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Pittman Lakes Dam No 2	Blount	32 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Canyon Lake No 2	Tuscaloosa	32 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Lake Hardwood	Shelby	31 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Zamora Lake Dam	Jefferson	31 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Killingsworth Lake Dam	Fayette	31 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Will Engle Dam	Blount	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Indian Lake	Shelby	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Wild Acres Lake	Jefferson	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Turkey Creek Lake	Jefferson	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
East Lake Dam	Tuscaloosa	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Vestavia Lake	Jefferson	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Kilgore Lands Lake	Walker	30 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Dale County Public Lake	Dale	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Canyon Lake Dam	Tuscaloosa	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Mildred Warner Dam	Tuscaloosa	30 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Lake No. 7 Dam	Tuscaloosa	29 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Dream Lake Dam Number One	Tuscaloosa	29 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Lake Retreat Dam	Tuscaloosa	28 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Canyon Lake Dam Upper	Tuscaloosa	28 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Bugs Lake Dam	Fayette	28 ft	Not assessed	Recreation