Ball Mountain Dam (National ID # VT00001) is a dam in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispa ...

Windham County, Vermont Windham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Vermont. As of the 2020 census, the population was 45,905. The shire town ( county seat) is Newfane, and the largest municipality is the town of Brattleboro. History Fort Bridgman, Ve ...

, in the southeastern part of the state. The earthen and gravel gravity dam was constructed between 1957 and 1961 by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

, with a height of and a length of at its crest. It impounds the West River of Vermont for

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

. The dam is owned and operated by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps identified safety and seepage problems with the dam in 2009, and has assigned it a Dam Safety Action Class rating of DSAC II, or "Urgent". The reservoir it creates, Ball Mountain Reservoir, has a normal water surface of , a maximum capacity of , and a normal capacity of . Recreation includes fishing (for stocked Atlantic salmon, smallmouth bass, and trout), camping at 111 campsites in nearby Winhall and Jamaica, and activities at the adjacent

Jamaica State Park Jamaica State Park is a 772-acre state park in Jamaica, Vermont Jamaica is a town in Windham County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,005 at the 2020 census. The town includes the villages of Jamaica, East Jamaica and Rawsonville. ...

. The river between Ball Mountain Lake and downstream Townshend Lake (also operated by the Army Corps of Engineers) is used for

white water Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and w ...

boating during releases from the Ball Mountain Dam, usually occurring during one weekend in April and one weekend in September.

References

{{authority control Dams in Vermont Buildings and structures in Jamaica, Vermont Reservoirs in Vermont United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1961 Bodies of water of Windham County, Vermont 1961 establishments in Vermont