Lake Purdy Dam
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Lake Purdy Dam on the Little Cahaba River was built in 1909 by the Birmingham Water Works. It was named for W. H. H. Purdy, an engineer and general manager of the Municipal Management Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which operated the Birmingham Water Works under contract.
The dam was raised by 20 feet in 1929, creating the present 1,00 acre Lake Purdy reservoir just above the confluence of the Little Cahaba and the Cahaba River.
The dam is accessed from Lake Purdy Dam Road with gated entrances on Sicard Hollow Road and Cahaba Valley Road. Water released from the reservoir's spillway proceeds into the Cahaba where it is taken up by the Water Works' Cahaba Pumping Station.
References
- White, Marjorie Longenecker (1981) The Birmingham District: An Industrial History and Guide. Birmingham: Birmingham Historical Society ISBN 9990230099
- Foscue, Virginia O. (1989) Place Names in Alabama. Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press. ISBN 081730410X
- "Hydrologic Modifications" (n. d.) Rivers of Alabama - accessed April 6, 2008