Dams in North Carolina

%!s(int=3622)Total Dams

1637High Hazard

648Significant

1337Low Hazard

Dam Safety in North Carolina

North Carolina has 3,622 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 1637 (45%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 648 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 379 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in North Carolina is 65 years old. As dams age, inspection frequency and maintenance become increasingly important for ensuring public safety. The most common purpose for dams in North Carolina is recreation, accounting for 2,087 of the state's dams.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in North Carolina, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

North Carolina Dam Facts

Total Dams	3,622
High Hazard Dams	1637
Average Dam Age	65 years
Tallest Dam	480 ft
Largest Reservoir	1,552,689 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	379

Notable Dams in North Carolina

Fontana Dam480 ftHigh Hiwassee Dam307 ftHigh Nantahala250 ftHigh Cheoah236 ftHigh Santeetlah216 ftHigh

Counties in North Carolina

Alamance46 dams12 high hazard Alexander21 dams10 high hazard Alleghany12 dams4 high hazard Anson40 dams10 high hazard Ashe11 dams9 high hazard Avery20 dams16 high hazard Beaufort6 dams3 high hazard Bertie1 dams Bladen19 dams3 high hazard Brunswick12 dams6 high hazard Buncombe74 dams48 high hazard Burke25 dams10 high hazard Cabarrus53 dams27 high hazard Caldwell30 dams19 high hazard Carteret1 dams1 high hazard Caswell31 dams5 high hazard Catawba40 dams14 high hazard Chatham60 dams22 high hazard Cherokee29 dams13 high hazard Clay11 dams6 high hazard Cleveland42 dams16 high hazard Columbus7 dams4 high hazard Craven3 dams1 high hazard Cumberland91 dams54 high hazard Danville1 dams Davidson43 dams19 high hazard Davie28 dams8 high hazard Duplin27 dams10 high hazard Durham67 dams40 high hazard Edgecombe16 dams3 high hazard Forsyth111 dams57 high hazard Franklin43 dams12 high hazard Gaston60 dams24 high hazard Gates1 dams1 high hazard Graham9 dams6 high hazard Granville13 dams6 high hazard Greene7 dams2 high hazard Guilford181 dams83 high hazard Halifax17 dams1 high hazard Harnett57 dams30 high hazard Haywood19 dams16 high hazard Henderson85 dams44 high hazard Hertford10 dams3 high hazard Hoke24 dams9 high hazard Iredell81 dams26 high hazard Jackson52 dams29 high hazard Johnston55 dams11 high hazard Jones2 dams2 high hazard Lee38 dams20 high hazard Lenoir11 dams4 high hazard Lincoln27 dams9 high hazard Macon54 dams33 high hazard Madison15 dams9 high hazard Martin5 dams McDowell37 dams10 high hazard Mecklenburg156 dams89 high hazard Mitchell15 dams9 high hazard Montgomery33 dams4 high hazard Moore136 dams63 high hazard Nash33 dams4 high hazard New Hanover2 dams Northampton16 dams3 high hazard Onslow5 dams3 high hazard Orange37 dams21 high hazard Pamlico2 dams1 high hazard Pender4 dams1 high hazard Person25 dams14 high hazard Pitt16 dams10 high hazard Polk32 dams13 high hazard Randolph109 dams34 high hazard Richmond39 dams15 high hazard Robeson7 dams4 high hazard Rockingham90 dams15 high hazard Rowan36 dams22 high hazard Rutherford59 dams23 high hazard Sampson41 dams9 high hazard Scotland20 dams7 high hazard Stanly32 dams13 high hazard Stokes64 dams28 high hazard Surry47 dams22 high hazard Swain16 dams9 high hazard Transylvania79 dams50 high hazard Union65 dams31 high hazard Vance14 dams3 high hazard Wake363 dams210 high hazard Warren2 dams Watauga27 dams20 high hazard Wayne35 dams19 high hazard Wilkes22 dams7 high hazard Wilson16 dams3 high hazard Yadkin36 dams11 high hazard Yancey10 dams7 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in North Carolina

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Fontana Dam	Graham	480 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Hiwassee Dam	Cherokee	307 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Nantahala	Macon	250 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cheoah	Graham	236 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Santeetlah	Graham	216 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Bear Creek	Jackson	215 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Walters	Haywood	208 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Bee Tree Lake Dam	Buncombe	182 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Wolf Creek	Jackson	178 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Cedar Cliff	Jackson	173 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Belews Lake Dam	Rockingham	170 ft	Fair	Other
Paddy Creek Embankment	Burke	165 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Linville	Burke	160 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Catawba	Burke	150 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Thorpe	Jackson	150 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Apalachia Dam	Cherokee	150 ft	Not Available	Hydroelectric
Chatuge Dam	Clay	150 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
W. Kerr Scott Dam	Wilkes	148 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Waynesville Water Supply Dam	Haywood	142 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Mountain Island	Gaston	140 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Belews Creek Active Ash Basin Dam	Stokes	135 ft	Fair	Tailings
North Fork Reservoir Dam	Buncombe	134 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Cowans Ford	Mecklenburg	134 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Tuxedo Hydroelectric Dam	Henderson	129 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Lure Dam	Rutherford	124 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Oxford	Alexander	122 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Cliffside Active Ash Basin Downstream Dam	Cleveland	120 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
Yadkin Falls	Montgomery	120 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
Asu-norris Branch Dam	Watauga	112 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Mayo Active Ash Basin Dam	Person	110 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Julian Dam	Buncombe	106 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Randleman Dam	Randolph	102 ft	Fair	Recreation
Mayo Lake Dam	Person	100 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Reynolds Lake Dam	Surry	100 ft	Fair	Recreation
Moss Lake Dam	Cleveland	99 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Cliffside Inactive Ash Basin #5 Main Dam	Rutherford	97 ft	Unsatisfactory	Other
High Rock	Rowan	96 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Little River Dam	Durham	95 ft	Satisfactory	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Auman Dam	Moore	93 ft	Fair	Recreation
Lake Michie Dam	Durham	92 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Falls Lake Dam	Wake	92 ft	Not Available	Flood Risk Reduction
Stewarts Creek Ws Dam #1a	Surry	91 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Ticoa Lake Dam	Transylvania	90 ft	Fair	Recreation
Marshall Active Ash Basin Dam	Catawba	90 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Atagahi Lake Dam	Transylvania	88 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Lookout Shoals	Catawba	88 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Town Fork Creek Ws Dam #16	Stokes	88 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Yadkin Narrows Bypass Spillway Control Structure	Montgomery	88 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Turner Shoals Dam	Polk	87 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Town Fork Creek Ws Dam #10	Stokes	86 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Andrews Water Supply Dam	Cherokee	85 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Belews Creek Saddle Dike #2 Dam	Stokes	83 ft	Fair	Other
Woodfin Reservoir Dam	Buncombe	81 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Sagar Lower Dam	Transylvania	80 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Lake Butner Dam	Granville	80 ft	Fair	Recreation
Tuckertown	Stanly	80 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Queens Creek	Macon	78 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Blewett Falls	Anson	77 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Farmer Lake Dam	Caswell	77 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Town Of Boone Water Supply Dam	Watauga	77 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Mission Ready Dam	Graham	76 ft	Fair	Recreation
Big Warrior Creek Dam	Wilkes	76 ft	Fair	Recreation
Eagles Nest Lake Dam	Transylvania	75 ft	Poor	Recreation
Bryson City Water Supply Dam	Swain	75 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Msd Treatment Plant Dam	Buncombe	75 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Deep Creek Watershed #5d Dam	Yadkin	75 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Tahoma Dam	McDowell	73 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Cane Creek Resevoir Dam	Orange	72 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Buck Ash Basin #1 Dam	Rowan	72 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
Rhodhiss	Caldwell	72 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Roanoke Rapids	Northampton	72 ft	Poor	Hydroelectric
Lake Wanteska Dam	Transylvania	70 ft	Fair	Recreation
Roxboro East Ash Basin Dam	Person	70 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Buck Main Ash Basin Dam	Rowan	70 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
Allen Active Ash Basin Dam	Gaston	70 ft	Satisfactory	Other
Roxboro West Ash Basin Dam	Person	70 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Lithco Mine Tailings Dam F	Gaston	70 ft	Fair	Other
Mclendon Creek Dam	Moore	70 ft	Fair	Recreation
Lake Mackintosh Dam	Alamance	69 ft	Fair	Other
Roaring Gap Club Lake Dam	Alleghany	69 ft	Fair	Recreation
Lake Hyco Dam	Person	68 ft	Fair	Recreation
Roxboro Afterbay Dam	Person	68 ft	Fair	Other
Beech Mountain Water Supply Dam	Watauga	68 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Eden Presettling Impoundment Dam	Rockingham	67 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Carriage Park Dam #1	Henderson	66 ft	Fair	Recreation
Indian Lake Lower Dam	Transylvania	65 ft	Fair	Recreation
Hillsborough Water Supply Dam	Orange	65 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Lucas Lake Dam	Randolph	64 ft	Fair	Other
2nd Broad River Watershed Dam #16	Rutherford	64 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Tuckasegee	Jackson	64 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Bonsal Tailings Dam	Anson	63 ft	Fair	Tailings
Little Yadkin River Ws Dam #4	Stokes	63 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Belews Creek Saddle Dike #1 Dam	Stokes	62 ft	Fair	Other
Muddy Creek Dam #8	McDowell	62 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Lake Logan Dam	Haywood	62 ft	Poor	Other
Lake Cammack Dam	Alamance	61 ft	Fair	Other
Kings Mountain City Lake Dam #2	Cleveland	61 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Twitty Dam	Union	60 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Cliffside Active Ash Basin Upstream Dam	Cleveland	60 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
Lake Toxaway Lower Dam	Transylvania	60 ft	Fair	Recreation