Black Rock Reservoir

About Black Rock Reservoir

The primary purpose of Black Rock Reservoir is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam is owned by Holiday Products Inc. (private). It impounds the Blackrock Brook near West Warwick.

The dam stands 11 feet tall and stretches 280 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 17 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 150 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1885, the structure is over a century old.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Its condition is rated poor, meaning the dam has recognized safety deficiencies that require remediation to address risks. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The Rhode Island dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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