The Barre Falls Dam is located on the Ware River in Barre, Massachusetts, about 0.3 mi below the junction of the river's east and west branches and 13 mi northwest of Worcester, Massachusetts. Designed and constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, this dam substantially reduces flooding along the Ware, Chicopee, and Connecticut rivers. Construction of the project began in May 1956 with completion in July 1958 at a cost of US$2 million. The Barre Falls reservoir is located within the Upper Ware River Watershed and is part of the Chicopee River Watershed. Access to the site is available from Route 62.

Description

The project consists of an earth fill dam with stone slope protection 885 ft long and 69 ft high. There are three dikes totaling 3,215 ft in length with a maximum elevation of 48 ft. Cut in rock, the spillway comprises a concrete weir 60 ft. in length. The weir's crest elevation is 23 ft lower than the top of the dam. There is no lake at the Barre Falls Dam. The flood storage area for the project, which is normally empty, stores floodwaters and covers about 1500 acre in the towns of Barre, Hubbardston, Rutland, and Oakham, Massachusetts. The entire project, including all associated lands, covers 2407 acre. The Barre Falls Dam can store up to 7.82 e9USgal of water for flood control purposes. This is equivalent to 8.2 in of water covering its drainage area of 55 mi2.

Management

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation manage and preserve the land for water quality protection. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority manages these water resources, which are part of the public water supply for the Greater Boston area. The Corps assists the MWRA by coordinating flows to maximize diversion rates, and the MWRA assists the Corps when requested to divert excess flows to help with flood control. Camping, swimming and wading are not permitted. However, there is an 18-hole disc golf course which spans much of the premises.