Long Pond dam is finished

SALISBURY — The Long Pond dam replacement project is finished, with a brand spanking new dam in place.The replacement of an old earth and stone dam was in the works for several years — and delayed by uncertainty over finances.The dam was the subject of considerable study and planning going back at least to July 2000, when then-First Selectman Val Bernardoni brought the dam’s condition to the attention of the state Department of Environmental Protection.The state picked up 66 percent of the cost up to $500,000, and the adjacent property owners and the town paid for the remainder: But only after a lengthy search to discover who actually owns the dam. The answer: No one quite knows.After an initial dam design was completed, the project bogged down as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considered the environmental impact.The bog turtle, an endangered species legendary for both its reclusiveness and — in the Northwest Corner, anyway — its ability to stop projects in their tracks, came into play.According to First Selectman Curtis Rand, the federal agencies decided that in order to rebuild the original dam and ensure that there was sufficient water in the lake for the bog turtles to have an adequate supply of wet mud for their hibernation season (mid-September through October), the window for drawing the lake down 3 feet and completing construction was very short, with the work to be done by Sept. 1 of any given year.But engineers hired by the state came up with a new dam design that only required drawing the lake down a foot, which did not have a negative impact on the turtles’ activities, thus extending the construction season well into the fall.Last week, on Monday, Jan. 9, Zenalis Construction was still putting the finishing touches on, adding a step to a concrete box on the road side of the dam that contains a valve for drawing down the lake in the future.The area around the construction has been seeded, and riprap added along the banks of the brook created by the overflow from the dam.Rand said in an email to The Journal on Monday, Jan. 9, that “the final contract price is varying a little from the original, which was $474,000. There are a few change orders underway and the project won’t close until next summer, even though it is pretty much finished.”

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