| Overview The basins of the Alabama, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers (ACT) extend about 320 miles from northwest Georgia and a very small portion of southeast Tennessee diagonally to near the southwest corner of Alabama. The total drainage area of this basin to the mouth of the Alabama River is about 22,800 square miles. The main rivers of the ACT Basin are the Coosa, Tallapoosa, Cahaba, and Alabama. |
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- Robert F. Henry Lock and Dam and R.E. "Bob" Woodruff Lake
- Millers Ferry Lock and Dam and William "Bill" Dannelly Reservoir
- Claiborne Lock and Dam and Lake
The Cahaba River includes one project operated by the Birmingham Water Works Board, Purdy Dam and Lake. This river is a tributary to the Alabama River, originating in the Piedmont Plateau north of Birmingham and flowing 108 river miles to the Coastal Plain, and to the south for 87 miles, where it joins the Alabama River.
The Alabama River lies completely within the Coastal Province of Alabama, meandering southwest from the confluence of the Coosa and Tallapoosa rivers near Wetumpka to Montgomery and Selma, and finally southwest, where it joins the Tombigbee River to form the Mobile River. The total river length from its origin to the Mobile River is about 315 miles.
The Coosa River Basin includes, in addition to the Coosa River (10,270 square miles), the Etowah (1,860 square miles), and the Coosawattee rivers (875 square miles). The Coosa River includes several projects operated by Alabama Power Company:
- Weiss Dam and Lake
- H. Neely Henry Dam and Lake
- Logan Martin Dam and Lake
- Lay Dam and Lake
- Mitchell Dam and Lake
- Jordan Dam and Lake
- Bouldin Dam and Lake
The Tallapoosa River (4,660 square miles) includes 4 large Dams and Lakes within its drainage basin: Harris, Martin, Yates, and Thurlow--all operated by Alabama Power Company. This river originates in the Piedmont Plateau of Georgia and follows hilly terrain for about 45 miles before entering Alabama, where it flows another 190 miles southwesterly and westerly through Piedmont Plateau and Coastal Plain before joining with the Coosa River near Montgomery.
