As work resumes to repair and strengthen a century-old dam in Shelby County, dozens of other structures in the region remain in need of attention, according to a national database.

Members of Birmingham’s regional water utility Monday unanimously agreed to resume $28 million in repairs on the Lake Purdy Dam after briefly pausing the project.

The project is intended to improve the dam’s structural stability and address water leaks at its foundation. The work is part of a $85 million total initiative to upgrade the structure that was approved by the former Birmingham Water Works Board in 2024. The utility has since been restructured and renamed Central Alabama Water.

Lake Purdy Dam is listed as a high hazard by the Army Corps of Engineers due to the catastrophic impact that a breach would have on nearby communities. Still, the major dam isn’t the only area structure in need of attention.

The National Inventory of Dams, a database of the Corps of Engineers, lists 23 dams in Shelby County and 20 dams in Jefferson County in need of repair.

Dams in Jefferson County include two others owned by the water works. Shelby County listings include four dams at Oak Mountain State Park.

In all, the database includes 2,266 dams in Alabama. The average age is 57 years old, and 16 percent are listed as high hazard potential.

Still, the database also includes several qualifiers regarding the broad category of “high risk.”

“Category to indicate the potential hazard to the downstream area resulting from failure or mis-operation of the dam or facilities,” the site notes. “It reflects probable loss of human life and impacts on economic, environmental, and lifeline interests. The hazard potential does not speak to the condition of the dam or the risk of the dam failing.”

Lake Purdy Dam is part of the system that delivers drinking water for suburban Birmingham communities including Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills.

The National Inventory of Dams site notes that about 60,000 dams or two-thirds of the 91,000 structures it lists pose lesser risks that are not life threatening. Also, half of the listed dams are less than 25 feet tall while only two percent of the dams are taller than 100 feet.

Lake Purdy is a main source for the water works. The other is Inland Lake in Blount County. The database also lists Inland Lake as high risk.