The Mount Morris Dam is a concrete dam on the Genesee River. It is located South of Rochester, New York in the town of Mount Morris, New York, next to Letchworth State Park.

The dam was built from 1948 - 1952 by the Army Corps of Engineers. The project was authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1944 at a cost of $25 million.

Records show that the Genesee River Valley and the City of Rochester had experienced flooding since 1800, with severe floods occurring every seven years between 1865 and 1950. In the years since the completion of the dam, it is estimated that more than $1 billion in flooding damages have been prevented.

During Hurricane Agnes in 1972, $210 million in damages was prevented, primarily to the city of Rochester. The inflow of this storm was so great that the reservoir had exceeded capacity, and some water had to be released through the gates of the dam. This caused minor flooding downstream, but prevented the problems that would have occurred if the spillway had overflowed. Inflows of this magnitude are only expected to happen an average of every 300 years.

External Links

• Mount Morris Dam Brochure - From the Army Corps of Engineers