Dams and Power Generation
The west branch of the river includes two hydroelectric dams in West Hartland and Colebrook, run by Connecticut's Metropolitan District Commission.
The largest dam on the east branch is the Saville Dam, which impounds the Barkhamsted Reservoir.
The Rainbow Dam, a 68-foot (21 m) dam with a hydroelectric generator and a fish ladder, dams the river at Windsor, a few miles before the river flows into the Connecticut River.
A number of other dams have been built on the river since European settlement, usually to power mills and other industry. A few, such as in Collinsville, are still mostly intact.
Water released from or flowing over the Otis Reservoir dam enters the Farmington River just North of Reservoir Road in Otis, Massachusetts. Significant quantities of water are released during the fall in order to drop the reservoir water level for the winter.
Read more about this topic: Farmington River
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