The waters above the barrage are permanently held at the level of an average high tide and are used for watersports such as canoeing, jet skiing, dragonboat racing and incorporates a 1 km rowing course.

The project also included the regeneration of 100 ha of adjacent derelict land producing riverside walks, parkland and leisure facilities.

To prevent uplift of the dry river bed, deep pressure relief wells were required which needed to be fully functional until the barrage was built and the site flooded.

[14][15] The barrage was opened on 22 April 1995[2][16] with an international competition on the white water course, and inaugurated on 17 July the same year by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

[17] In April 2001 ownership of the Tees Barrage and white water course was passed to British Waterways (now the Canal & River Trust) from its original owners English Partnerships.

The test was largely a success and further devices are booked including a Rugged Renewables Savonius rotor that is to be deployed as a building-mounted turbine.

A steel footbridge carries walkers and cyclists across the concrete piers of the barrage on the Teesdale Way, part of the National Cycle Network.

Although the public cannot gain direct access to the barrage itself, the footbridge affords excellent views of the fish belly plates and hydraulics.

Starting in April 2008 British Waterways commissioned a three-year electronic fish tagging survey to help understand the interactions and relationships between various wildlife at the barrage focusing on seal numbers and salmonid migration.