The potential failure of Alabama's dams could lead to catastrophic flooding, destroying homes and endangering lives. Despite the risks, there is no state law mandating inspections for all dams, leaving many unmonitored and vulnerable.
Charles Miller, policy director for the Alabama Rivers Alliance, expressed concern about the possibility of dam failures. "We've seen them in other states, nearly happen in highly regulated dams in North Carolina during Hurricane Helene," he said.
Across the United States, there are more than 92,000 dams, with nearly 17,000 classified as high hazard, meaning their failure could put lives at risk, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Senator Clyde Chambliss highlighted the urgency of the issue, referencing recent flooding in Texas and New Mexico. "If we had a dam failure in Alabama, it would be just like that, but with no warning whatsoever," he said.
In Shelby County, the Lake Purdy Dam and Reservoir, which holds over five billion gallons of water, is undergoing a $28 million rehabilitation project to strengthen its structure.
"Our engineers and management team looked at the dam to see what needed to be done to ensure it would be here for years to come and the strengthening of the dam is a big part of that," said Mac Underwood, general manager of Central Alabama Water.
Road work started last fall. Excavation began in March. By early 2026, the dam will have new buttresses and supports to keep it stable, which is all part of phase 1 of the project.
Underwood emphasized the importance of the dam. "We couldn't provide water to a large portion of the system without Lake Purdy Dam," he said.
The dam is the main source for the Shades Mountain Filter Plant, the largest water treatment facility in Alabama, supplying water to Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook, Homewood, and much of the Birmingham metro area.
Underwood assured that the dam is currently safe but acknowledged the possibility of future failure. "There's always a possibility, but the dam is safe at this point," he said.
Lake Purdy is the oldest dam out of the additional four Central Alabama Water owns. Work has been done on some of the others in recent years, but Underwood explained it hasn't been to this same magnitude.
While Central Alabama Water commits to inspecting its dams every five years, this is not the case statewide.
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It wasn't until two years ago that SB 284, sponsored by Senator Chambliss, was signed into law, laying the groundwork for dam safety and emergency planning. Chambliss noted, "We were the last state to have any type of program."
Chambliss supports future legislation to make inspections mandatory, as participation is currently voluntary. "We will phase it in probably over a long period of time," he said, expressing hope for progress in the next legislative session. "My hope is this next session, we'll come in, some of the larger dams, larger municipalities, and counties, will make it mandatory. We'll see. We'll see what the legislature says."
Environmental advocates warn that many of Alabama's dams are over 100 years old, some abandoned and without clear ownership. Miller emphasized the need for action, stating, "When nobody has the responsibility to look at these things, it can lead to gaps in our knowledge and things that could cause really troubling consequences if we don't take action."
Without a mandated program, Alabama is missing out on millions of dollars from FEMA's National Dam Safety Program. Miller said, "We could be getting money from the federal government to train people to inspect these dams, hire people to inspect these dams, to create good-paying jobs for engineers in the state of Alabama, and until we mandate inspections, we won't get that money."