I know of a 10 acre lake that the dam blew out. The dam was sound, but loggers jammed the spillway with logs and debris and didn't think about the consequences. Big rain came and the 30's dam spilt right down the middle very rapidly. It washed away huge trees in a valley below for miles, as the lake was 30' deep and had a lot of volume. The owner lost the entire several hundred acres due to law suits. Seems like 300 to 400 acres.

One must be very careful of living below dams which where not constructed well and below dams who's property owner is irresponsible. If there are trees growing on a dam, you should monitor it carefully as this is a clue of lack of maintenance and possibly poor construction practices.

Most all dams in my area I would be nervous living right below, large or small. You can google this, but there is massive leaking in the Wolf Creek dam in Kentucky, and it theoretically could was away large areas around Nashville if it gives way. Center Hill dam is leaking also. These are massive well built dams.

Robinson, PI (Politically Incorrect, of Course)