Dams in Vermont

362 damsAvg age: 90 years

High Hazard

131

Significant

164

Low Hazard

Dam Safety in Vermont

Vermont has 362 dams tracked in the National Inventory of Dams. Of these, 67 (18%) are classified as high hazard — meaning failure would probably cause loss of human life — and 131 are classified as significant hazard. Currently, 104 dams in the state have a condition assessment of poor or unsatisfactory, indicating recognized safety deficiencies.

The average dam in Vermont is 90 years old. Many of these aging structures were built before modern dam safety standards were established, which increases the importance of regular inspections and maintenance. The most common purpose for dams in Vermont is recreation, accounting for 190 of the state's dams.

The federal inventory is not every dam in Vermont. It includes dams rated high or significant hazard, plus low-hazard dams above a size threshold (taller than 25 feet holding more than 15 acre-feet, or taller than 6 feet holding more than 50 acre-feet). Small, older dams below that line are usually left out, even though they can still shape the streams around them. The state's own dam safety program often tracks many more, and it is the agency that inspects most of them.

Use the search above to find dams near any address in Vermont, or browse by county below. Each dam listing includes its hazard potential classification, condition assessment, physical characteristics, and inspection history from the NID.

Vermont Dam Facts

Total Dams	362
High Hazard Dams	67
Average Dam Age	90 years
Tallest Dam	247 ft
Largest Reservoir	116,075 acre-ft
Poor/Unsatisfactory Condition	104

Notable Dams in Vermont

Ball Mountain Dam247 ftHigh Waterbury187 ftHigh Harriman186 ftHigh Union Village Dam164 ftHigh Townshend Dam126 ftHigh

Explore Vermont Dams

Oldest DamsEarliest dams in Vermont Tallest DamsHighest dams in Vermont

Counties in Vermont

Addison32 dams2 high hazard Bennington26 dams2 high hazard Caledonia23 dams3 high hazard Chittenden14 dams4 high hazard Essex5 dams Franklin14 dams2 high hazard Grand Isle1 dams Lamoille20 dams4 high hazard Orange32 dams5 high hazard Orleans15 dams2 high hazard Rutland48 dams4 high hazard Sullivan1 dams Washington31 dams10 high hazard Windham34 dams15 high hazard Windsor66 dams14 high hazard

High Hazard Dams in Vermont

Dam	County	Height	Condition	Purpose
Ball Mountain Dam	Windham	247 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Waterbury	Washington	187 ft	Poor	Flood Risk Reduction
Harriman	Windham	186 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Union Village Dam	Orange	164 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Townshend Dam	Windham	126 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Elizabeth Mine Tp-1	Orange	120 ft	Satisfactory	Tailings
North Springfield Dam	Windsor	118 ft	Not assessed	Flood Risk Reduction
Wrightsville	Washington	115 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Jewell Brook Site No. 5	Windsor	113 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Somerset	Windham	110 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Mahoney Pond	Bennington	89 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Okemo Snow Pond	Windsor	80 ft	Fair	Recreation
Jewell Brook Site No. 3	Windsor	76 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
North Branch Dam	Windsor	75 ft	Not assessed	Recreation
Jewell Brook Site No. 2	Windsor	71 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Jewell Brook Site No. 1	Windsor	69 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Chittenden Reservoir	Rutland	68 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
East Barre	Washington	65 ft	Fair	Flood Risk Reduction
Stowe Upper Golf Course	Lamoille	63 ft	Fair	Recreation
Sugar Hill	Addison	60 ft	Fair	Hydroelectric
West Lake	Windham	56 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Windsor Upper	Windsor	55 ft	Poor	Recreation
Wolcott	Lamoille	52 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
North Hartland Dam - Dike	Windsor	52 ft	Not assessed
Middlesex No. 2	Washington	51 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Peterson	Chittenden	51 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Lake Paran	Bennington	50 ft	Fair	Recreation
Thurman W. Dix Reservoir	Orange	50 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Rutland City Reservoir	Rutland	48 ft	Satisfactory	Water Supply
Marshfield No. 6	Washington	48 ft	Not assessed	Hydroelectric
Woodward Reservoir	Windsor	47 ft	Fair	Recreation
Keyser	Orange	44 ft	Fair	Recreation
Sugarbush Tank	Washington	44 ft	Fair	Other
Pleasant Valley Reservoir	Windham	42 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Clark Falls	Chittenden	40 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Warren Lake	Washington	38 ft	Fair	Recreation
Wright Reservoir	Windsor	36 ft	Poor	Other
Lake Clara	Windham	33 ft	Fair	Recreation
Blodgett	Orange	32 ft	Poor	Recreation
Lake Mansfield	Lamoille	32 ft	Fair	Recreation
St. Albans North Reservoir	Franklin	32 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Indian Brook Reservoir	Chittenden	31 ft	Poor	Recreation
Silver Lake	Windsor	30 ft	Poor	Recreation
Silver Lake	Addison	30 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Snow Lake	Windham	28 ft	Poor	Recreation
West Charleston	Orleans	28 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Snowshed Pond	Rutland	28 ft	Unsatisfactory	Other
Institute Pond	Caledonia	26 ft	Poor	Other
St. Albans South Reservoir	Franklin	26 ft	Fair	Water Supply
Chestnut Hill Reservoir	Windham	25 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Wantastiquet Lake	Windsor	22 ft	Fair	Recreation
Newport	Orleans	22 ft	Satisfactory	Hydroelectric
Sweet Pond	Windham	20 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
East Long Pond	Washington	20 ft	Poor	Other
Lake Sadawga	Windham	19 ft	Poor	Recreation
Mackville Pond	Caledonia	18 ft	Fair	Recreation
Nichols	Washington	18 ft	Fair	Other
Ryder Pond	Windham	17 ft	Poor	Recreation
Lowell Lake	Windham	16 ft	Fair	Recreation
Star Lake	Rutland	16 ft	Fair	Recreation
Lake Sadawga West Dike	Windham	16 ft	Poor	Recreation
Crescent Lake	Windsor	16 ft	Poor	Recreation
Stiles Pond	Caledonia	14 ft	Poor	Water Supply
Johnson State Lower	Lamoille	14 ft	Satisfactory	Recreation
Jacksonville Pond	Windham	14 ft	Fair	Other
Lower Pond	Chittenden	12 ft	Poor	Other
West Hill Pond	Washington	11 ft	Poor	Recreation