ABOUT LHDI
Purpose
Low-head dams are constructed in-water barriers that span the width of a waterway.
Originally designed for a variety of purposes – like providing water for drinking, agriculture, or recreation – these dams have become known mostly for their dangers to people. Vist Low-Head Dams Basics to learn more.
The Low-Head Dam Inventory (LHDI) is a dataset accessed through the National Inventory of Dams that shows the location of these dams in the U.S. This dataset provides greater visibility to what we know about these dams today.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers maintains the National Inventory of Dams and publishes available data on many types of dams, now including a low-head dam dataset. Publishing information about low-head dams in the U.S. is an important step to helping people understand the dangers of low-head dams and support actions to improve safety.
Today, visitors can see the location of many low-head dams. More information is needed to improve available data – including locations of dams not yet captured and more detailed information for identified dams.
