Black Rock Lake is a part of a network of flood control dams and local protection projects built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the Naugatuck River Basin. The Dam was constructed at a cost of $8.2 million and was completed in 1970 in response to the destructive flood of 1955. The dam would prevent $14.6 million in damages downstream in a recurrence of the flood of 1955 and to date has prevented over 60.5 million in flood damages.

The Reservoir Regulation Team (RRT), is the "nerve center" for the New England flood control dams such as Black Rock Lake. Using radio and satellite communications, RRT constantly monitors river levels and weather conditions that influence flood control decisions.

Corps personnel, in conjunction with RRT, regulate the amount of water released downstream by raising or lowering the two 3' X 4' gates located in the control tower at the dam. In a time of high water, the gates are lowered in order to hold back the water, only to be released when downstream river conditions begin to recede.