Spear Pond

About Spear Pond

The primary purpose of Spear Pond is fire protection, stock, or small fish pond. The dam maintains a small impoundment used for fire suppression, livestock watering, or as a fish pond. The dam is owned by Knier, Frederick W. & Paul H. (private). It impounds the Hemlock Brook near Foster.

The dam stands 11 feet tall and stretches 100 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 3 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 6 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 2 square miles.

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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