Adams Lake is an earth dam located in Blount County, Alabama, built in 1970. It carries a High hazard potential classification.
Dam profile
NID height · 17 ft17 ft tall and 276 ft long. Height is drawn to scale against a two-story house, about 25 ft; the profile is a generic embankment section and the water level is illustrative.
About Adams Lake
The primary purpose of Adams Lake is fire protection, stock, or small fish pond. The dam maintains a small impoundment used for fire suppression, livestock watering, or as a fish pond. The dam is owned by W. R. Adams (private). It impounds the Sand Valley Creek near Sand Valley Community.
The dam stands 17 feet tall and stretches 276 feet across, and has a maximum storage capacity of 73 acre-feet. Completed in 1970, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years old.
This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam.
Living Downstream
If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. Alabama is the only state with no dam safety program, so there is no state office to contact about this structure; the federal record above is what exists. ASDSO's page on Alabama explains the gap.
Search for dams near your address to see all dams in your area with hazard classifications and safety data.
Location
| State | Alabama |
| County | Blount |
| Nearest City | Sand Valley Community |
| River/Stream | Sand Valley Creek |
| Coordinates | 33.84868, -86.61264 |
Physical Characteristics
| Dam Type | Earth |
| NID Height | 17 ft |
| Dam Length | 276 ft |
| Year Completed | 1970 (56 years old) |
Storage & Hydraulics
| NID Storage | 73 acre-ft |
| Max Storage | 73 acre-ft |
| Normal Storage | 44 acre-ft |
| Max Discharge | 71 cfs |
Ownership & Safety
| Purpose | Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond |
| Owner | W. R. Adams |
| Owner Type | Private |
| Hazard Classification | High |
| Condition Assessment | Not assessed |
| Emergency Action Plan | No |
Identifiers
| NID ID | AL01179 |
| Federal ID | AL01179 |
| More Info | ASDSO on Alabama (no state dam safety program) |