Buffumville Dam is
located 1.3 miles above the point where the Little River flows into
the French River. Completed at a cost of $3 million, the dam is
part of a system of six flood control projects designed and built
by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Thames River Basin. This
system controls flooding from Oxford, Massachusetts, to Long Island
Sound. To date, Buffumville Dam has prevented damages of $26.8 million.
Buffumville Lake has a peak storage capacity of 5.2 billion gallons
to minimize downstream flooding. At maximum storage, the flood control
pool rises 42 feet above the normal recreation pool. This flood
water is stored on approximately 500 acres of public land. The U.S.
Government purchased the rights to store flood waters on another
273 acres of private land. Much of this flood easement lands borders
privately-owned Pierpoint Meadows Pond.
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