The Berlin Dam field trip will depart at 8:00 am and return at an estimated time of 5:00 pm. The registration fee includes transportation to and from the convention center and lunch. All participants are required to ride the bus to and from the site.
The trip will include an organized tour of the Berlin Lake Dam, followed by lunch at Halliday Winery which is located on Lake Milton Dam.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) constructed Berlin Dam across the Mahoning River in 1943 to hold back water during flood events to reduce the risk of downstream flooding in the low-lying communities in the Mahoning River valley, including Newton Falls, Leavittsburg, Warren, and Niles, Ohio. The dam is located about ten miles northeast of Alliance, Ohio and forms the Berlin Lake. Berlin Dam has reduced flood damage by more than an estimated $2.8 billion since the start of operations. The reservoir stores rainfall to maintain downstream flow within the downstream riverbanks and releases water after flood events; provides water supply; and provides numerous opportunities for recreation.
Berlin Dam is composed of both a concrete portion and an earthen (embankment) portion with a maximum height of 96 feet and a length of about 5,750 feet. The concrete portion of the dam is approximately 660 feet long and up to 76 feet wide. The reservoir outlet works pass through and are operated from within the concrete dam. The outlet works consist of five sluices which discharge water from the reservoir to the submerged stilling basin downstream of the dam. These include three 36-inch diameter sluices and two 5-foot by 7-foot rectangular sluices. The 5-foot by 7-foot sluices were retrofitted in 2002 to discharge water through ring jet valves.
For large storm events, the concrete portion of the dam controls outflow through spillway gates and ungated bays on each side of the gated spillway. The spillway is designed to release a large volume of water during significant rainfall events to reduce the possibility that water from the reservoir will overtop the dam.
Flanking the concrete dam on each side are embankments that extend the dam to the left by approximately 2,200 feet and to the right by approximately 2,900 feet. The total length of Berlin dam is about 5,750 feet. The embankment portions of the dam have slightly higher crest elevations than the concrete portion. The transitions between the concrete and embankment portions of the dam were effected by overlapping the embankment at the ends of the concrete dam (the end monoliths are encapsulated in the embankment sections).
The reservoir serves to store rainfall from spring through early summer to augment flow during the drier late summer and early autumn months, provides water supply to the Mahoning Valley Sanitary District, and can be used for recreational purposes. Additional information on Berlin Dam is available on the National Inventory of Dams website.
Closed-toed shoes, waivers, and background checks will be required for all participants.
A $25 cancellation fee will be applied to all field trip cancellations received before 9/5/2025. Cancellations after 9/5/2025 will not be eligible for a refund.
Downloadable Registration Form Register Online