Alabama Engineers Take the Lead on Dam Safety
WBRC, the Fox affiliate in Birmingham, Alabama, aired a package this week on efforts to ensure the thousands of dams in the state are identified, inspected, maintained, and rehabilitated in accordance with the Dam Safety Act signed into law by Gov. Kay Ivey (R). For ACEC Alabama, that legislation represents far more than a regulatory milestone. It’s a critical infrastructure and public safety action that stipulates a key role for engineers and reinforces their essential responsibility in protecting the health and welfare of Alabama communities. To understand why it matters so much, it helps to understand what came before.
Historically, Alabama stood out for the wrong reason: it was the only state in the country without a comprehensive dam safety program. An attempted fix by the Alabama Legislature in 2014 fell short without stakeholder involvement or consensus. With more than 2,300 known dams (and possibly many more than that) scattered throughout the state, the lack of a dam safety program carried real risk. Many of the state’s dams have never undergone a thorough inspection, leaving open questions about the integrity of the dams and the potential risks related to downstream public safety, flooding, and property damage.
That changed in June 2023. As the only PE in the Alabama Legislature, State Sen. Clyde Chambliss (R) has been the lead champion for passage of the Alabama Dam Safety Act, coordinating closely with the Alabama Safe Dams Coalition Technical Committee, a group of stakeholders of which ACEC Alabama is part. This committee provided technical support for Sen. Chambliss, and as a result of his leadership, Gov. Ivey signed the initial Alabama Dam Safety Act into law. The legislation established the state’s first statewide framework for dam safety inspections, maintenance planning, and emergency action preparedness.
The Act takes a risk-based approach, concentrating on dams that could result in a loss of human life or pose a significant threat to downstream lifelines and property in the event of a catastrophic failure. Among its core provisions, it requires inspections of certain dams and reservoirs by qualified engineers. In practical terms, the Act fortifies the role of professional engineers across the state, making them instrumental in evaluating dam conditions, identifying deficiencies, designing rehabilitation strategies, and preparing emergency action plans to protect Alabama communities.
The work isn’t finished. During the 2026 legislative session, the Alabama Legislature advanced SB 378, sponsored by Sen. Chambliss. This legislation placed the administration of the Alabama Dam Safety Program under the Alabama Emergency Management Agency (AEMA). The AEMA will initially prepare and submit to the governor and Legislature in the 2027 legislative session the Alabama Dam Safety Implementation Plan, which will identify operational and financial needs including future rulemaking and legislation. As the program matures under the direction of the AEMA, ACEC Alabama’s engineers will remain at the center of this work, keeping the state’s dams—and the people who live downstream of them—safe.
