Birmingham Water Service Lake is an earth dam located in Jefferson County, Alabama, built in 1948. It carries a High hazard potential classification.
Dam profile
NID height · 58 ft58 ft tall and 460 ft long, taller than 95% of U.S. dams with a recorded height. Height is drawn to scale against a ten-story building, about 100 ft; the profile is a generic embankment section and the water level is illustrative.
About Birmingham Water Service Lake
The primary purpose of Birmingham Water Service Lake is water supply. The dam stores water for municipal, industrial, or agricultural use, helping ensure a reliable supply for the surrounding area. The dam is owned by Birmingham Water Service (private). It impounds the Tr-shades Creek near Cherokee Forest.
The dam stands 58 feet tall and stretches 460 feet across, and has a maximum storage capacity of 407 acre-feet. Completed in 1948, the structure is well-established, with more than 75 years of service.
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 58 feet, this dam is taller than 95% of all dams in the United States.
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 | Jefferson |
| Nearest City | Cherokee Forest |
| River/Stream | Tr-shades Creek |
| Coordinates | 33.46607, -86.75848 |
Physical Characteristics
| Dam Type | Earth |
| NID Height | 58 ft |
| Dam Length | 460 ft |
| Year Completed | 1948 (78 years old) |
Storage & Hydraulics
| NID Storage | 407 acre-ft |
| Max Storage | 407 acre-ft |
| Normal Storage | 363 acre-ft |
| Max Discharge | 119 cfs |
Ownership & Safety
| Purpose | Water Supply |
| Owner | Birmingham Water Service |
| Owner Type | Private |
| Hazard Classification | High |
| Condition Assessment | Not assessed |
| Emergency Action Plan | No |
Identifiers
| NID ID | AL01288 |
| Federal ID | AL01288 |
| More Info | ASDSO on Alabama (no state dam safety program) |