Before you clear a lake lot in Alabama, find out who controls the shoreline and get their permit first: Alabama Power on Lewis Smith Lake, and the City of Tuscaloosa on Lake Tuscaloosa. Then clear only what the house, the drive and the view need, and keep the slope above the water covered so it does not wash into the lake.
Find out whose rules cover your shoreline
A lake lot is not ordinary land. The lake was built by somebody, a power company or a city, and that owner usually holds land or an easement along the water and sets rules for what happens there. On top of that sit the state's stormwater rules, federal rules for work in the water, and often a subdivision's own covenants. The two big lakes inside our service area are Lewis Smith Lake and Lake Tuscaloosa, and they are run by different owners with different rules. Start by reading your deed and plat for the contour or line the lake owner controls.
Smith Lake: Alabama Power
Alabama Power's Smith Lake guidelines put full summer pool at the 510 foot contour and say the company holds a flood easement up to the 522 foot contour. A written permit from Alabama Power is required before any construction on its fee-owned or flood easement lands, and its permit page says all work in the lakebed, the flood easement or its control strip, other than painting and pressure washing, could require one. The company's Shoreline Management office for the lake is in Jasper, so ask that office before clearing near the water. Our Smith Lake lot clearing page has more on the ground there.
Lake Tuscaloosa: the City of Tuscaloosa
Lake Tuscaloosa was completed in 1970 by damming the North River, covers 5,885 acres and is the primary source of drinking water for Tuscaloosa, so the city guards it. The city requires a Land Development Permit for clearing, grading, excavating or otherwise disturbing soil on property directly adjacent to the lake. Its Lakes Division separately handles permits for piers, boat houses, dredging, retaining walls and other work along the lake, so ask it before any tree near the water is cut. Both come before any machine work. See our Lake Tuscaloosa lot clearing page for how we work to those limits.
State stormwater rules and work in the water
ADEM's construction stormwater permit covers land disturbance of one acre or more, and smaller sites that are part of a common plan of development or sale adding up to an acre. A lot in a lake subdivision can fall under it for that reason, so ask ADEM or your developer. Work in the water is separate again. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Mobile District requires a permit for work or structures in navigable waters and for placing dredged or fill material in waters of the United States. Ask before any dirt, rock or stump goes near the bank.
Leave the bank covered
The least costly erosion control on a lake lot is the vegetation that is already there. Alabama Power's shoreline guidance asks owners to keep at least a 15-foot naturally managed buffer of vegetation back from the top summer lake level, and to keep clearing of native trees and plants in that strip to a minimum. Above the buffer, mulching is the right tool for the slope. It takes out the privet and saplings that block the view, leaves the roots holding the hill and covers the dirt with chips. The dozer is saved for the spots that have to be bare.
The drive and the flat spot come first
Lake lots are steep and wooded, and most need two things before a house can go on them: an access road and a level place to build. The drive is usually the hard part. It has to climb or drop the hill at a grade a concrete truck can manage, shed water to the sides and carry it under in culverts so it does not wash to the lake. Where a cut has to be held back, we build block and boulder retaining walls. Our lot clearing page covers the work from the first tree to the roughed-in drive.
If you do not live near the lake
A lot of lake lot owners live somewhere else. That is workable. Send the county, the lot location and your plat or survey, and we can go over the property with you on satellite and get close on price before anybody drives anywhere. Then we look at it on the ground before work starts. Have the corners and the lake owner's line flagged by a surveyor, because we clear to the lines and limits you are given. Our land clearing page explains how a job runs from the first walk to the final grade.
Common Questions
Do I need a permit to cut trees on my Smith Lake lot?
Ask Alabama Power's Shoreline Management office before cutting near the water. The company requires a written permit before construction on its fee-owned and flood easement lands, and says work in the flood easement or control strip could require one. Its guidance also asks owners to keep a vegetated buffer along the shore.
Can I clear to the water's edge on Lake Tuscaloosa?
Check with the City of Tuscaloosa first. The city requires a Land Development Permit for disturbing soil on property directly adjacent to the lake, and its Lakes Division handles permits for work along the lake, so ask it before any tree near the water is cut. Have the city's line marked so you know where your lot stops.
What is the right way to clear a steep lake lot without causing erosion?
Clear less and keep it covered. Mulch the slope so the roots stay in and chips cover the dirt. Leave a strip of natural vegetation along the water. Grade only the house site and the drive, and build the drive to shed water into ditches and culverts and not down the hill.
What to Do Next
Tell us which lake, where the lot is and what you plan to build. Call or text (205) 535-6376. We will go over it with you, look at it on the ground and give you a free estimate. Have your lake permit in hand, or ask us what to line up first.
See our land clearing page or call or text (205) 535-6376.