May 31st is Dam Safety Awareness Day and serves as an important reminder to dam owners to understand their roles and responsibilities to safeguard life and property downstream. On this day in 1889, the South Fork Dam failed near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, causing the deadliest dam related disaster in U.S. history. Proper maintenance and oversight could have prevented the catastrophic event. The dam was weakened by inadequate repairs, alterations to the dam’s design and the lack of proper drainage systems. Had the dam been properly maintained and operated, the failure might have been avoided.

The National Inventory of Dams (NID) identifies more than 91,700 dams throughout the United States. Approximately, 13% or 11,850 of these dams were designed and built with the assistance of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 and expanded again by the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954, NRCS Watershed Programs has played a crucial role in assisting project sponsors with design, planning and construction of these critical structures. A significant percentage of these dams continue to be managed and operated on private land in remote areas while the rest are owned by local, state or federal agencies. NRCS has also developed DamWatch® a web-based application to provide dam owners real-time monitoring of potential threats to dam safety such as storms and seismic events. These tools give sponsors advance warning to help save lives and protect property before a disaster occurs and ensure the dams continue to perform as intended.

During Hurricane Helene and Milton, for example, there were a total of 201 DamWatch® alerts issues in 8 states between September 26th to 30th, 2024. Approximately 95 dams that received severe rainfall alerts were classified as high hazard potential meaning, that in the event of a breach of the dam, there was a possibility of loss of life and property downstream. Once a forecast alert notification had been received, local project sponsors were notified of the potential hazards before they happened. Then, during and after the storm, they were notified of dams that received more rainfall than the dams were designed for so that field reviews could assess the condition of the dams. The field reviews determined that the watershed dams continued to function as designed with no significant damages identified.

Dam Safety Awareness Day encourages everyone to learn more about the dams in their area and the necessary steps to take in the event of a breach — staying informed is an integral part of being prepared! More importantly, dam owners must take responsible measures to ensure their dams’ safety and maintain their structural integrity. This interactive map will help you locate dams near you.

Visit the NRCS Watershed Rehabilitation Program webpage to learn more about the key roles and responsibilities of dam owners.