Turners Falls Dam - Montague, MA - Water Dams on Waymarking.com

Between the towns of Montague and Gill, there is a sharp 'S-curve' in the Connecticut River. Within this feature is a large dam and falls known primarily as Turners Falls, but also refered to its former name as Great Falls. The dam is a long steel and concrete structure that spans the entire width of the river, and an associated fish ladder and power canal are on the Montague side of the river.

According to a report written about erosion issues found in the pool behind the dam, the Turners Falls Pool is 22 miles long and extends to the Vernon dam in Vermont. I have not been able to get a definitive number on the height. A printable brochure indicated that without the dam, the height of the original Great Falls would have been 40-50. There were references in the technical report of the dams built at that site, and the amount the height was raised, which puts the hieght from 6 to 13 feet (not sure if the heights given are additive to previous heights). Either way, the falls are impressive. The Connecticut River is the largest river in New England, and at this point, the river is several hundred feet wide. There are several gates to the dam.

The first dam was built in 1798 as an extension to a lock and dam system that started in Holyoke, MA. In 1905, a concrete dam was built and subsequent changes later raised the water level 7.3 feet. In 1970, as part of the Northfield Mountain pump storage project, the dam was rebuilt to its present form and raised 5.9 ft. (see the The Turners Falls Fluvial Study, link below).

Beside the dam is a large industrial canal that carries water to a power station and a paper mill. In earlier times, there were many mills situated here, including the world's largest cutlery factory.

To make things slighlty more complex, along the Turners Falls Pool, a water storage facility was been built in and on Northfield Mountain. In 1972, a reservoir was built on top of the mountain, and a series of tunnels with pumps were built between the river and the reservoir. Water fromthe river is pumped up to the reservoir at night, when the rates are low. Then, during the day, the water is released and the added water in the river provides power to the turbines in the powerplants downstream, including one at Turners Falls. Thus, though the power company uses more electricity than it generates to pump the water up, it gains by releasing at peak water rate times when there is demand.

One drawback to this is that the water level fluctuates so greatly at this pool that the banks are eroding. This is being studied.

The waymark point is located at the best viewing location, which is behind the Great Falls Discovery Center. Park in the parking lot on 2nd Ave and walk by the museum on a straight path to an intersection with the bike path. Cross the bridge ahead and turn right. The dam will be in plain sight behind the bridge. You could also see the dam from the bridge. There is a sidewalk. If you follow the bike path upstream, you will pass under the bridge and then enter a park along the pool above the dam. There is not a long view of the lake, since it bends out of view and Barton Island sits in the center of view.

Sources:

Geology Tour of Turners Falls
(visit link)

Fluvial Geomorphology Study of the
Turners Falls Pool on the Connecticut
River Between Turners Falls, MA and
Vernon, VT :
(visit link)

Nortfield Mountain of First Light Power Resources:
(visit link)

Northeast Utilities (Current owners of the power plant at Turners Falls):
(visit link)

(visit link)

Waterway where the dam is located: Conneticut River Main use of the Water Dam: Hydroelectric Power Production Material used in the structure: Masonry/Concrete Height of Dam: About 60 ft Date built: 01/01/1970 Fishing Allowed: yes Motor Sports Allowed: yes

Visit Instructions:
Photo of the Dam and a description of your visit.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   07/19/2012 Freddie's Pack visited it