Office of Dam Safety

Moose Hill Reservoir Dam, Spencer/Leicester

The Office of Dam Safety maintains records of dams located throughout the Commonwealth, ensures compliance with acceptable practices pertaining to dam inspection, maintenance, operation and repair of dams.

In accordance with recent changes in the dam safety regulations, dam owners are now responsible for registering, inspecting, reporting inspection results to the Office of Dam Safety and maintaining their dams in good operating condition.

In 2002 the Massachusetts legislature enacted revisions of the Dam Safety Statute, MGL Chapt. 253 §§ 44-50, which significantly change the responsibilities of dam owners to register, inspect and maintain dams in good operating condition. Amendments to Dam Safety Regulations 302 CMR 10.00-10.16 (pdf download) became effective November 4, 2005 and are reflective of the statutory changes.

Dam Registration: In accordance with MGL Chapter 253 Section 10.05, dam owners must add their dam(s) to the public record by completing a Dam Registration Form provided by the Office of Dam Safety. Upon reciept of the completed Dam Registration Form the Office of Dam Safety issues a Dam Registration Certificate to dam owners for recording at registries of deeds. The dam owner must record the certificate at the applicable registry of deeds as an attachment to the record deed that describes the parcel where the dam is located and provide Dam Safety with a copy of the recorded certificate. When land ownership is transferred from one owner to another, a revised Dam Registration Form must be submitted to the Office of Dam Safety in a timely manner to initiate issuance of an updated Dam Registration Certificate which must be recorded. The details of the registration process can be viewed here online.

Dam Safety Inspection Requirements: The Office of Dam Safety has made available documents that can be downloaded here to serve as a template and guidelines for conducting compliant dam safety field inspections and filing compliant Dam Safety Phase I Inspection Reports with the Office of Dam Safety. Owners of dams are required by 302 CMR 10.07 to hire a qualified engineer to inspect and report results every 2 years for High Hazard Potential dams, every 5 years for Significant Hazard Potential dams and every 10 years for Low Hazard Potential dams.

Hazard Potential Classification

High Hazard Potential dam refers to dams located where failure will likely cause loss of life and serious damage to home(s), industrial or commercial facilities, important public utilities, main highway(s) or
railroad(s).

Significant Hazard Potential dam refers to dams located where failure may cause loss of life and damage home(s), industrial or commercial facilities, secondary highway(s) or railroad(s) or cause interruption of use or service of relatively important facilities.

Low Hazard Potential dam refers to dams located where failure may cause minimal property damage to others. Loss of life is not expected.

Emergency Action Plans: MGL Chapter 253 and 302 CMR 10.00 requires that dam owners prepare, maintain and update Emergency Action Plans for all High Hazard Potential dams and certain Significant Hazard Potential dams. Follow this link for Information on Emergency Action Plans.