The Eaton Reservoir Dam is owned by the State of New York under the jurisdiction of the NYSCC. The dam is located at the east end of the Eaton Reservoir near the Town of West Eaton, New York. The dam is classified by the NYSDEC as a large, Class C, high hazard dam. Bergmann and McMahon & Mann teamed to complete a dam safety inspection and engineering assessment for the dam, as required by NYCRR Part 673.16.

The dam was constructed in 1836. In 1991, a new reinforced concrete spillway was constructed over the center of the embankment. Additional toe drains, drainage stone, and ditches were installed during the construction of the concrete spillway.

McMahon & Mann completed subsurface explorations and laboratory and field tests to measure the properties of the foundation soil and the groundwater levels in the embankment. The work included installing standpipe piezometers in the embankment soils to allow measurements of the groundwater level in the dam fill at various times of the year. The information from the geotechnical investigation was used to evaluate the seepage conditions and complete the stability analyses of the embankment.

McMahon & Mann and Bergmann prepared an Engineering Assessment Report that included the results of the safety inspection, the hydrologic and hydraulic analyses, the stability and seepage analyses and identified deficiencies in the dam. The report presented conceptual recommendations for remediation to bring the dam into compliance with current NYSDEC Guidelines.