This is a list of dams in Maine that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams. __TOC__
Removals by watershed Bagaduce River A dam owned by the Town of Penobscot on Winslow Stream, a tributary of the tidal Bagaduce River, was used to maintain the water level of Wight Pond. It was replaced with a fish passage in 2017 to allow alewife to access the pond for spawning while still maintaining the water level.
Kennebec River
Built in 1837, the tall hydroelectric Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River blocked passage to Atlantic salmon and American shad. It was removed in 1999 after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission refused to renew its license, marking the first time the federal government ordered the removal of a dam against the wishes of its owners.
In 2025, The Nature Conservancy announced the purchase of four dams on the river – Lockwood, Hydro-Kennebec, Shawmut, and Weston – which would eventually be removed to allow for greater upstream migration of fish.
Penobscot River Two dams have been removed as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project: the Great Works Dam in 2012 and the Veazie Dam in 2013, each tall.
Sheepscot River
The tall Coopers Mill Dam was removed from the Sheepscot River in 2018. One year later, the furthest downstream barrier on the river, the tall Head Tide Dam, was partially removed and replaced with an elevated platform to allow for fish passage. The Head Tide Dam was a former grist mill dam that was purchased by the Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Town of Alna for the purposes of removal.
The Lower Montsweag Dam on Montsweag Brook, a tributary of the Sheepscot River, had been built to create an emergency water source for the Maine Yankee Nuclear Power Plant. The dam was removed in 2010 following the plant's decommissioning in 1997.
St. George River At the time of its removal in 2002, Sennebec Dam was the last man-made barrier on the St. George River. The dam had raised the natural water level on Sennebec Pond, and was replaced with a fish ramp that maintained the level while opening of the river and of lake habitat to fish passage.
Completed removals Dam Height Year removed Location Watercourse Watershed Little River Dam 2009 Lisbon Little River Androscoggin River Farnsworth Dam 2019 Lisbon Sabattus River Upper River Dam (Upper Town Dam) 2022 Lisbon Unnamed remnant dam 2010 Washburn Salmon Brook Aroostook River Washburn Mill Pond Dam 2014 Washburn Unnamed remnant dam 2013 Riley Township Sunday River Wight Pond Dam 2017 Penobscot Winslow Stream Bagaduce River Smelt Brook Dam 2018 Sullivan Smelt Brook Frenchman Bay Kate Furbish Dam 2016 Brunswick Tributary to Harpswell Cove Harpswell Sound Edwards Dam 1999 Augusta Kennebec River Kennebec River Lombard Dam 2018 Vassalboro Outlet Stream Masse Dam 2017 Vassalboro Morneau Remnants Dam 2021 Vassalboro Madison Electric Dam 2006 Starks Sandy River Fort Halifax Dam 2008 Winslow Sebasticook River Main Street Dam 2002 Newport East Branch Sebasticook River Mill Dam 2000 Corinna Archer's Mill Dam 1999 Stetson Stetson Stream Walton's Mill Dam 2022 Farmington Temple Stream Goff Mill Brook Dam 2015 Arundel Goff Mill Brook Kennebunk River East Machias Dam 2000 East Machias East Machias River Machias River Canaan Lake Outlet Dam 1999 North Washington Old Stream Northern Stream Rock Dam 2020 East Machias Northern Stream West Winterport Dam 2010 Winterport and Frankfort Marsh Stream Penobscot River Bangor Dam 1995 Bangor Penobscot River Great Works Dam 2012 Old Town Veazie Dam 2013 Veazie and Eddington Brownville Dam 1999 Brownville Pleasant River (Piscataquis River tributary) Lower Sedgeunkedunk Dam 2009 Brewer Sedgeunkedunk Stream Grist Mill Dam 1998 Hampden Souadabscook Stream Hampden Recreation Area Dam 1999 Mast Point Dam 1997 Berwick Salmon Falls River Piscataqua River Shoreys Brook Dam 2011 South Berwick and Eliot Shoreys Brook Columbia Falls Dam 1988 Steuben Pleasant River (Pleasant Bay) Pleasant River (Pleasant Bay) Smelt Hill Dam 2002 Falmouth Presumpscot River Presumpscot River Saccarappa Dam 1 (east) 2019 Westbrook Saccarappa Dam 2 (west) 2019 Westbrook Swett Brook Dam 2013 Waterford Swett Brook Randall Mill Dam 2013 Pownal Chandler Brook Royal River Unnamed dam 2012 Yarmouth Royal RiverMilltown Dam2023CalaisSt. Croix RiverSt. Croix River Sennebec Dam 2002 Union St. George River St. George River Martin Brook Upper Dam 2010 Madawaska Martin Brook Saint John River Sherman Lake Dam 2008 New Castle Marsh River Sheepscot River Lower Montsweag Dam 2010 Wiscasset Montsweag Brook Head Tide Dam 2019 Alna Sheepscot River Coopers Mill Dam 2018 Whitefield
References
External links