Emergency safety work is being done at Coe Pond Dam in Ansonia and the work is expected to continue for around two weeks, according to the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments said an engineering report published in March determined that the dam is in poor condition and the deficiencies would pose an immediate threat to public safety with the potential for loss of human life and property damage if they went unaddressed.
The organization said the work includes enlarging a notch in a concrete spillway at the dam, which will lower the water level in Coe Pond by around three feet, which will reduce stress on the dam and the immediate safety risk.
Coe Pond Dam is part of the Kinneytown Dam Hydroelectric Facility, a federally regulated hydroelectric facility on the Naugatuck River.
Get top local stories in Connecticut delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC Connecticut's News Headlines newsletter.
It consists of two dams with non-functioning powerhouses in Seymour and Ansonia, according to NVCOG, which said it has been working with a coalition to acquire and remove the non-operational dam and restore the river to its natural course, restore migratory fish passage, eliminate dam safety concerns, reduce up and down-stream flood risk, improve water quality, restore natural sediment flows, and restore access to the Naugatuck River for residents and visitors.
