Guntersville Dam is a concrete dam located in Marshall County, Alabama, built in 1939. It carries a High hazard potential classification.
Dam profile
NID height · 94 ft94 ft tall and 3,979 ft long, taller than 98% 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 concrete gravity section and the water level is illustrative.
About Guntersville Dam
The primary purpose of Guntersville Dam is flood risk reduction. The dam is designed to control downstream flooding by temporarily storing excess water during storms and releasing it at a controlled rate. The dam is owned by TVA (federal). It impounds the Tennessee River near Guntersville.
The dam stands 94 feet tall and stretches 3,979 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 66,000 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 1,048,700 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 24,450 square miles. Completed in 1939, 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. An emergency action plan is in place for this dam. The most recent inspection on record was 04/15/2025.
At 94 feet, this dam is taller than 98% 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 | Marshall |
| Nearest City | Guntersville |
| River/Stream | Tennessee River |
| Coordinates | 34.42367, -86.39222 |
Physical Characteristics
| Dam Type | Concrete |
| NID Height | 94 ft |
| Dam Height | 78 ft |
| Dam Length | 3,979 ft |
| Year Completed | 1939 (87 years old) |
Storage & Hydraulics
| NID Storage | 1,048,700 acre-ft |
| Max Storage | 1,048,700 acre-ft |
| Normal Storage | 1,018,000 acre-ft |
| Surface Area | 66,000 acres |
| Drainage Area | 24,450 sq mi |
| Max Discharge | 650,000 cfs |
| Spillway Type | Controlled |
Ownership & Safety
| Purpose | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Owner | TVA |
| Owner Type | Federal |
| Hazard Classification | High |
| Condition Assessment | Not assessed |
| Last Inspection | 04/15/2025 |
| Emergency Action Plan | Yes |
Identifiers
| NID ID | AL09501 |
| Federal ID | AL09501 |
| More Info | ASDSO on Alabama (no state dam safety program) |