Watsons Waste Weir Dam is a concrete dam located in Niagara County, New York, built in 1918. It carries a Low hazard potential classification.
Dam profile
NID height · 16 ft16 ft tall and 75 ft long. Height is drawn to scale against a two-story house, about 25 ft; the profile is a generic concrete gravity section and the water level is illustrative.
About Watsons Waste Weir Dam
The primary purpose of Watsons Waste Weir Dam is navigation. The dam maintains water levels sufficient for boat and barge traffic, supporting commercial or recreational navigation on the waterway. The dam is owned by New York State Canal Corporation (state). It impounds the Johnson Cr near Middleport.
The dam stands 16 feet tall and stretches 75 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 890 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 10,488 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1918, the structure is over a century old.
This dam has a low hazard potential classification, meaning that failure would cause minimal damage, limited primarily to the dam owner's property, with no expected loss of life. The most recent inspection on record was 11/10/2020.
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Location
| State | New York |
| County | Niagara |
| Nearest City | Middleport |
| River/Stream | Johnson Cr |
| Coordinates | 43.21303, -78.50919 |
Physical Characteristics
| Dam Type | Concrete |
| NID Height | 16 ft |
| Dam Height | 16 ft |
| Dam Length | 75 ft |
| Year Completed | 1918 (108 years old) |
Storage & Hydraulics
| NID Storage | 10,488 acre-ft |
| Max Storage | 10,488 acre-ft |
| Normal Storage | 8,640 acre-ft |
| Surface Area | 890 acres |
| Drainage Area | 1 sq mi |
| Max Discharge | 764 cfs |
| Spillway Type | Uncontrolled |
Ownership & Safety
| Purpose | Navigation |
| Owner | New York State Canal Corporation |
| Owner Type | State |
| Hazard Classification | Low |
| Condition Assessment | Not assessed |
| Last Inspection | 11/10/2020 |
| Emergency Action Plan | Not Required |
Identifiers
| NID ID | NY17189 |
| Federal ID | NY17189 |
| More Info | State Dam Safety Program |