Fort Payne Dam is an earth dam located in DeKalb County, Alabama, built in 1971. It carries a High hazard potential classification.
Dam profile
NID height · 37 ft37 ft tall and 1,085 ft long, taller than 83% of U.S. dams with a recorded height. 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 Fort Payne Dam
The primary purpose of Fort Payne Dam is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam is owned by City of Fort Payne Ala. (local government). It impounds the Tr Big Wills Creek near Fort Payne.
The dam stands 37 feet tall and stretches 1,085 feet across, and has a maximum storage capacity of 1,394 acre-feet. Completed in 1971, 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.
At 37 feet, this dam is taller than 83% of dams nationwide.
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 | DeKalb |
| Nearest City | Fort Payne |
| River/Stream | Tr Big Wills Creek |
| Coordinates | 34.51788, -85.67099 |
Physical Characteristics
| Dam Type | Earth |
| NID Height | 37 ft |
| Dam Length | 1,085 ft |
| Year Completed | 1971 (55 years old) |
Storage & Hydraulics
| NID Storage | 1,394 acre-ft |
| Max Storage | 1,394 acre-ft |
| Normal Storage | 579 acre-ft |
| Max Discharge | 13,020 cfs |
Ownership & Safety
| Purpose | Recreation |
| Owner | City of Fort Payne Ala. |
| Owner Type | Local Government |
| Hazard Classification | High |
| Condition Assessment | Not assessed |
| Emergency Action Plan | No |
Identifiers
| NID ID | AL01205 |
| Federal ID | AL01205 |
| More Info | ASDSO on Alabama (no state dam safety program) |