375
High Hazard
70
Significant
31
Low Hazard
Dam Safety in West Virginia
West Virginia has 490 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 375 (76%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 70 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 57 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.
The average dam in West Virginia is 60 years old. The most common purpose for dams in West Virginia is flood risk reduction, accounting for 181 of the state's dams.
The federal inventory is not every dam in West Virginia. 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 West Virginia, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.
West Virginia Dam Facts
| Total Dams | 490 |
| High Hazard Dams | 375 |
| Average Dam Age | 60 years |
| Tallest Dam | 780 ft |
| Largest Reservoir | 631,000 acre-ft |
| Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition | 57 |
Notable Dams in West Virginia
Explore West Virginia Dams
Counties in West Virginia
Barbour2 dams1 high hazardBath1 damsBerkeley5 dams3 high hazardBoone12 dams12 high hazardBraxton7 dams7 high hazardBrooke8 dams8 high hazardCabell6 dams4 high hazardCalhoun1 dams1 high hazardClay2 dams1 high hazardDoddridge2 dams1 high hazardFayette12 dams8 high hazardGrant21 dams19 high hazardGreenbrier5 dams5 high hazardHampshire5 dams1 high hazardHancock3 dams3 high hazardHardy9 dams8 high hazardHarrison25 dams19 high hazardJackson14 dams10 high hazardJefferson5 dams1 high hazardKanawha18 dams12 high hazardLewis16 dams14 high hazardLincoln2 dams2 high hazardLogan7 dams6 high hazardMarion14 dams12 high hazardMarshall19 dams14 high hazardMason14 dams7 high hazardMcDowell9 dams5 high hazardMercer20 dams19 high hazardMineral32 dams30 high hazardMingo10 dams9 high hazardMonongalia16 dams9 high hazardMonroe3 dams3 high hazardMorgan15 dams12 high hazardNicholas6 dams5 high hazardOhio8 dams7 high hazardPendleton19 dams19 high hazardPleasants2 dams1 high hazardPocahontas8 dams3 high hazardPreston20 dams13 high hazardPutnam12 dams7 high hazardRaleigh14 dams11 high hazardRandolph6 dams4 high hazardRitchie7 dams3 high hazardRoane8 dams6 high hazardSummers4 dams3 high hazardTaylor2 dams2 high hazardTucker6 dams3 high hazardTyler2 dams2 high hazardUpshur3 dams2 high hazardWayne7 dams6 high hazardWebster4 dams3 high hazardWetzel2 dams1 high hazardWood7 dams5 high hazardWyoming1 dams1 high hazard
High Hazard Dams in West Virginia
| Dam | County | Height | Condition | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chess Refuse Disposal Area No. 1 | Boone | 780 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Delbarton Slurry Impoundment | Mingo | 760 ft | Not assessed | Other |
| Killarney Slurry Impoundment | Raleigh | 657 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Jake Gore Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 610 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Brushy Fork Impoundment | Greenbrier | 605 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Aldrich Branch Slurry Impoundment | Mingo | 560 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Rocklick Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 540 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Jarrells Branch Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 520 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Rock House Branch Slurry Impoundment | Logan | 482 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Lotts Branch Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 478 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Oldhouse Branch Impoundment No. 3 | Logan | 440 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Bean Hollow Slurry Impoundment (plant 1 Crdf) | Boone | 415 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Shumate Creek Slurry Impoundment | Raleigh | 390 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Cherry Tree Hollow Refuse Facility | Boone | 385 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Amonate Slurry Impoundment | McDowell | 384 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Ragland Slurry Impoundment | Mingo | 370 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Jacks Branch Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 365 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Cunningham Hollow Slurry Impoundment | Marshall | 363 ft | Not assessed | Other |
| Ben Creek Slurry Impoundment | Mingo | 358 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Holden #22 Slurry Impoundment | Logan | 355 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Campbells Creek Slurry Impoundment | Nicholas | 355 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Trace Branch Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 320 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Moccasin Hollow Impoundment | Boone | 310 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| R.d. Bailey Dam | Mingo | 310 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Harmon Branch Refuse Disposal Facility | McDowell | 294 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Little White Oak Slurry Impoundment | Logan | 290 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Nile Stone Slurry Impoundment | Mingo | 272 ft | Not assessed | Other |
| Conner Run Refuse Impoundment | Marshall | 267 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Maynard Branch Slurry Impoundment | Wayne | 262 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Big Branch Coal Refuse Facility | Clay | 260 ft | Not assessed | Other |
| Leer Slurry Cell | Taylor | 250 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Browns Run Impoundment | Marshall | 246 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Mcelroy Run Dam | Pleasants | 243 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Twelvepole Refuse Impoundment | Mingo | 235 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Tygart Dam | Taylor | 234 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| John Amos Flyash Dam | Putnam | 223 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Rockcamp Branch Refuse Disposal Facility | Nicholas | 213 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Sutton Dam | Braxton | 210 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Holz Dam | Kanawha | 203 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Wilson Hollow Slurry Imp | Monongalia | 197 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Coal Refuse Disposal Facility No. 1 | Upshur | 190 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Scott's Run Cinder Barrier | Kanawha | 179 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Bluestone Dam | Summers | 165 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Hawks Nest | Fayette | 163 ft | Satisfactory | Hydroelectric |
| Bragg Fork Slurry Impoundment | Boone | 155 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Mt. Storm Lake Dam | Grant | 153 ft | Satisfactory | Other |
| Sugar Camp Branch Coal Refuse Impoundment | Nicholas | 150 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Ward Impoundment (upper) Dam | Kanawha | 139 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Nolan Run Slurry Impoundment | Harrison | 133 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Left Abutment Slurry Impoundment | Wayne | 130 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Grasshopper Hollow Tailings Dam | Morgan | 129 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| Lake Lynn | Monongalia | 125 ft | Satisfactory | Hydroelectric |
| Elkwater Fork Ws Dam | Randolph | 123 ft | Satisfactory | Water Supply |
| South Fork No. 2 Dam | Hardy | 123 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Lewellyn Amd Impoundment | Marion | 122 ft | Not assessed | Other |
| South Fork No. 1 Dam | Hardy | 122 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Momentive Landfill #2 Dam | Tyler | 121 ft | Satisfactory | Tailings |
| South Fork No. 17 | Pendleton | 116 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No. 4 Dam | Hardy | 116 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| East Lynn Dam | Wayne | 113 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| New Creek No. 14 Dam | Grant | 111 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Stonecoal Creek Dam & Reservoir | Lewis | 110 ft | Satisfactory | Other |
| Long Branch Reservoir | Putnam | 109 ft | Satisfactory | Water Supply |
| South Fork No. 6 | Pendleton | 105 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No. 5 Dam | Hardy | 105 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| N&s Mill Creek No. 3 Dam | Grant | 103 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| New Creek Dam No.16 | Mineral | 102 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Summersville Dam - Dike 2 | Nicholas | 100 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No. 37 | Pendleton | 98 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No. 9 | Pendleton | 98 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Patterson Creek No. 13 Dam | Grant | 98 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No.21 | Pendleton | 97 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Wheeling Creek No. 7 | Ohio | 97 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Stonewall Jackson Dam | Lewis | 95 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No.15 | Pendleton | 93 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Patterson Creek No.15 | Mineral | 92 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Patterson Creek No. 41 Dam | Grant | 91 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Wheeling Creek No.23 | Marshall | 90 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Charles Fork #17 | Roane | 90 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Lost River #4 Dam | Hardy | 89 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Mill Creek No.13 | Jackson | 89 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Burnsville Dam | Braxton | 89 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No.11 | Pendleton | 88 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Lunice Creek No. 10 | Grant | 87 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Howard Creek No. 12 Dam | Greenbrier | 87 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Pocatalico Structure No.28 | Jackson | 87 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Patterson Creek No. 12 Dam | Grant | 86 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| North Fork Hughes River Site 21c Dam | Ritchie | 86 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Beech Fork Dam | Wayne | 86 ft | Not assessed | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Wheeling Creek No.25 | Marshall | 85 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Wheeling Creek #3 | Marshall | 85 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| South Fork No. 19 | Pendleton | 84 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Wheeling Creek No.18 | Marshall | 84 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Lunice Creek No. 11 | Grant | 84 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Harvey Run No. 2 Slurry Impoundment | Monongalia | 83 ft | Not assessed | Tailings |
| Harmon Creek #1 | Brooke | 83 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Lost River #10 Dam | Hardy | 83 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| N&s Mill Creek No.4 | Grant | 82 ft | Fair | Flood Risk Reduction |
| Patterson Creek No. 6 Dam | Grant | 82 ft | Satisfactory | Flood Risk Reduction |
| The Summit - Dam B | Fayette | 81 ft | Satisfactory | Recreation |