Bristol Brass dam may be removed soon
Friday, September 17, 2010 12:59 AM EDT
By Jackie Majerus
Staff Writer
BRISTOL — The defunct Bristol Brass dam over the Pequabuck River may finally be removed, clearing the waterway for migratory fish and improving the natural habitat.
Pequabuck River Watershed Association President Mary Moulton said the removal of the dam was one of the earliest goals of her organization.
Fifteen years ago, the founders sought to clear the river of the dams that prevent fish from freely navigating the Pequabuck.
“They didn’t want to be a fishing club,” Moulton said. “They wanted to improve the habitat for fish.”
Carl Swanson, a founding member of the group, remembered the goal.
“One of the first things we looked at was getting rid of that dam,” Swanson said. “We’ve had many, many meetings about it. “It’s been a long time. Hopefully, this is going to be it.”
But grants for dam removal are tough to get, Swanson said.
Both Swanson and Moulton said the involvement of the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency has been a great help.
“It’s taken awhile, but it looks like it might come to fruition,” Swanson said. “There’s still work to be done, but it’s closer.”
There are old dams everywhere in New England, said Moulton, built years ago to power factories.
“We are psyched about the fact that we are almost to a final design,” Moulton said.
The state has been removing dams along the Farmington River, said Francis Pickering, senior planner with the regional planning agency.
Built in 1968, the brass dam is no longer functional and is neither historic nor beautiful, Pickering said.
“It’s a concrete relic from the ‘60s,” Pickering said.
The regional planning agency is holding a public meeting later this month about the removal of the dam, which is at the southwest corner at the junction of Routes 72 and 229.
The preliminary cost estimate for getting rid of it, said Pickering, is $550,000. He said most of the cost — nearly $300,000 — will be paid to someone to remove and properly dispose of 3,250 tons of large rocks, pebbles, sand and gravel around it that are contaminated with petroleum products.
He said they can’t just remove the dam and let all that wash downstream.
Pickering said he’s trying to get a federal grant to cover the cost of the dam removal.
“A healthy fish population is indicative of a healthy river,” Moulton said.
The river is home to some wild brown trout, white suckers, black-nosed dace, American eel and other species, said Swanson, a master wildlife conservationist.
Fish can swim downstream, but can’t go back upstream in the Pequabuck because the dam blocks their passage.
“Most fish will go upstream to spawn,” said Swanson.
Removing the approximately seven-foot high dam won’t have any impact on flooding because it won’t change the amount of water passing through.
“It’s not going to make it better and it’s not going to make it worse,” Swanson said. “It’s more of a spillway than a dam.”
City officials have long discussed cleaning up the former Trudon & Platt trucking company near there and converting it to a park with handicapped fishing accessibility on the river.
The meeting will be Monday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at the regional planning agency at 225 North Main St., Bristol, Suite 304.
Friday, September 17, 2010 12:59 AM EDT
By Jackie Majerus
Staff Writer
BRISTOL — The defunct Bristol Brass dam over the Pequabuck River may finally be removed, clearing the waterway for migratory fish and improving the natural habitat.
Pequabuck River Watershed Association President Mary Moulton said the removal of the dam was one of the earliest goals of her organization.
Fifteen years ago, the founders sought to clear the river of the dams that prevent fish from freely navigating the Pequabuck.
“They didn’t want to be a fishing club,” Moulton said. “They wanted to improve the habitat for fish.”
Carl Swanson, a founding member of the group, remembered the goal.
“One of the first things we looked at was getting rid of that dam,” Swanson said. “We’ve had many, many meetings about it. “It’s been a long time. Hopefully, this is going to be it.”
But grants for dam removal are tough to get, Swanson said.
Both Swanson and Moulton said the involvement of the Central Connecticut Regional Planning Agency has been a great help.
“It’s taken awhile, but it looks like it might come to fruition,” Swanson said. “There’s still work to be done, but it’s closer.”
There are old dams everywhere in New England, said Moulton, built years ago to power factories.
“We are psyched about the fact that we are almost to a final design,” Moulton said.
The state has been removing dams along the Farmington River, said Francis Pickering, senior planner with the regional planning agency.
Built in 1968, the brass dam is no longer functional and is neither historic nor beautiful, Pickering said.
“It’s a concrete relic from the ‘60s,” Pickering said.
The regional planning agency is holding a public meeting later this month about the removal of the dam, which is at the southwest corner at the junction of Routes 72 and 229.
The preliminary cost estimate for getting rid of it, said Pickering, is $550,000. He said most of the cost — nearly $300,000 — will be paid to someone to remove and properly dispose of 3,250 tons of large rocks, pebbles, sand and gravel around it that are contaminated with petroleum products.
He said they can’t just remove the dam and let all that wash downstream.
Pickering said he’s trying to get a federal grant to cover the cost of the dam removal.
“A healthy fish population is indicative of a healthy river,” Moulton said.
The river is home to some wild brown trout, white suckers, black-nosed dace, American eel and other species, said Swanson, a master wildlife conservationist.
Fish can swim downstream, but can’t go back upstream in the Pequabuck because the dam blocks their passage.
“Most fish will go upstream to spawn,” said Swanson.
Removing the approximately seven-foot high dam won’t have any impact on flooding because it won’t change the amount of water passing through.
“It’s not going to make it better and it’s not going to make it worse,” Swanson said. “It’s more of a spillway than a dam.”
City officials have long discussed cleaning up the former Trudon & Platt trucking company near there and converting it to a park with handicapped fishing accessibility on the river.
The meeting will be Monday, Sept. 27 at 7 p.m. at the regional planning agency at 225 North Main St., Bristol, Suite 304.