The New Mills Dam Committee (NMDC) oversees the maintenance and repairs of the New Mills Dam on behalf of the owners of the dam, the cities of Gardiner, Litchfield, and Richmond Maine. Each town appoints three members to the committee. The City of Gardiner provides administrative support and public works personnel as needed for some routine maintenance activities. The NMDC meets at least four times annually to perform its oversight duties. Committee appointed members are always on site when state inspection, repair or maintenance projects are underway.
Day to day operation of the dam to perform routine maintenance and manage upstream water levels is performed under contract by KEI (USA) Power Management Inc. in consultation with Wendy Dennis, the staff limnologist of the Cobbossee Watershed District. All operational procedures are codified in the New Mills Dam Project Operations Manual (last updated 2017) provided by KEI. In case of flooding or a dam failure, emergency procedures are detailed by the Kennebec Emergency Action Plan (last updated in 2025).
Dam Classification
Name: New Mills Dam Downstream hazard classification: High
Location: Gardiner, ME MEMA ID 346 State ID: ME00095 NID ID: ME00095
Purposes: Water level control, fire protection, stock, or small fish pond, Fish and Wildlife pond, recreation, flood risk
Owners: Towns of Gardiner, Litchfield, and Richmond, Maine