http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20101102/NEWS02/711029891
Published November 2, 2010 in the Rutland Herald
State visits Weathersfield dam
By Susan Smallheer
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — An engineer with the Agency of Natural Resources dam safety office was in town last week to review the condition of the town-owned Weathersfield reservoir.
The reservoir, which was once the town’s source of drinking water, has fallen into disrepair, but how far it has fallen still isn’t known, said Town Manager Robert Forguites.
Forguites said that Steve Bushman came to review the condition of the dam, now that the dam and spillway have been cleared of brush and other overgrowth.
The town manager said it would probably be a while before Bushman gives the town his assessment of the dam and reservoir, which is near Wellwood Orchard. During the past couple of years, the state has been pressuring the town to do something about the dam.
Forguites said he was preparing to ask the Springfield Select Board to seek engineering services for the town to do its own assessment of what needs to be done at the dam to make it safe.
The state has raised questions about the dam’s integrity, but despite that warning, townspeople have refused to sell the dam.
Forguites said he went to the reservoir Friday to meet Bushway and unlock the chain across the entrance to the reservoir, but he said he left Bushway alone to do his work.
Bushway couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
Last month, the Springfield Select Board gave its approval to a plan to have a forester from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation evaluate the standing timber on the 92 acres surrounding the reservoir and make recommendations for logging. The state would manage any project, Forguites said.
The state is also evaluating other town-owned forests, such as Hartness Park, in downtown Springfield, and Bryant Forest, which is located along the Black River, near the Connecticut River.
Voters in March had overwhelmingly defeated two separate articles to sell the Weathersfield dam and its 87 acres, and a companion piece of land. The tally on the first article was 1,530-539, and the smaller parcel vote was 1,439-670. The town had also voted 20 years ago against selling the dam, but despite those votes, the dam has been allowed to deteriorate.
In the mid-1980s, the town appropriated $100,000 to be used to fix the dam, but the money hasn’t been spent to date.
The dam was built in 1903 and at one time held 56 million gallons of water. The town currently gets its water from a series of wells along the Black River along Fairground Road.
State visits Weathersfield dam
By Susan Smallheer
Staff Writer
SPRINGFIELD — An engineer with the Agency of Natural Resources dam safety office was in town last week to review the condition of the town-owned Weathersfield reservoir.
The reservoir, which was once the town’s source of drinking water, has fallen into disrepair, but how far it has fallen still isn’t known, said Town Manager Robert Forguites.
Forguites said that Steve Bushman came to review the condition of the dam, now that the dam and spillway have been cleared of brush and other overgrowth.
The town manager said it would probably be a while before Bushman gives the town his assessment of the dam and reservoir, which is near Wellwood Orchard. During the past couple of years, the state has been pressuring the town to do something about the dam.
Forguites said he was preparing to ask the Springfield Select Board to seek engineering services for the town to do its own assessment of what needs to be done at the dam to make it safe.
The state has raised questions about the dam’s integrity, but despite that warning, townspeople have refused to sell the dam.
Forguites said he went to the reservoir Friday to meet Bushway and unlock the chain across the entrance to the reservoir, but he said he left Bushway alone to do his work.
Bushway couldn’t be reached for comment Monday.
Last month, the Springfield Select Board gave its approval to a plan to have a forester from the Department of Forests, Parks and Recreation evaluate the standing timber on the 92 acres surrounding the reservoir and make recommendations for logging. The state would manage any project, Forguites said.
The state is also evaluating other town-owned forests, such as Hartness Park, in downtown Springfield, and Bryant Forest, which is located along the Black River, near the Connecticut River.
Voters in March had overwhelmingly defeated two separate articles to sell the Weathersfield dam and its 87 acres, and a companion piece of land. The tally on the first article was 1,530-539, and the smaller parcel vote was 1,439-670. The town had also voted 20 years ago against selling the dam, but despite those votes, the dam has been allowed to deteriorate.
In the mid-1980s, the town appropriated $100,000 to be used to fix the dam, but the money hasn’t been spent to date.
The dam was built in 1903 and at one time held 56 million gallons of water. The town currently gets its water from a series of wells along the Black River along Fairground Road.
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