Dams Sector: Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

Sector Overview

The Dams Sector encompasses major infrastructure assets that harness the water resources of the nation and enable water management, balancing droughts and floods throughout the U.S. These dams, locks, pumping plants, canals, and levees provide water supply, power generation, navigable waterways, flood protection, and unique environmental stability and enhancements to habitats across the country.

The Dams Sector has interdependencies with a wide range of other sectors, including:

• the Agriculture and Food Sector, as a continued source of water for irrigation and water management;
• the Transportation Systems Sector uses dams and locks to manage navigable waters throughout inland waterways;
• the Water Sector, by supplying potable water to concentrated populations and commercial facilities in the U.S.;
• the Energy Sector, by providing approximately 8 to 12 percent of the nation's power needs with hydropower dams; and
• the Emergency Services Sector relies on Dams Sector assets for firefighting water supply, emergency water supply, and waterborne access in the event of a significant disaster.