A new report is issuing a worrisome warning for residents in Naugatuck Valley.
The Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments (NVCOG) is warning that a nearly mile-long dam at Coe River is at serious risk of breach, and if it’s not addressed, there’s a potential for loss of life and property.
“It holds Coe Pond back from the Metro North Rail Line which is below it, and the Naugatuck is below that. If that sandy berm should fail, which the engineers say it’s likely to fail, [water] will come crashing through, across the rail line and down the Naugatuck River toward Ansonia, Derby and Shelton,” Rick Dunne, executive director of NVCOG, said.
The issues came to light Friday, when NVCOG said it received an inspection report from engineers as part of the Kinneytown Dam Removal Project.
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According to a press release, NVCOG received a $15 million grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Funding Opportunity under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to fund a project to acquire and remove Kinneytown Dam.
The dam is owned by Kinneytown Hydro Inc. and is a federally-regulated hydroelectric facility on the Naugatuck River consisting of two dams, but its powerhouses in Seymour and Ansonia are non-functioning.
The goal of the project is to “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,” according to a press release.
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Dunne said through that process, engineers found a secondary dam, the Coe River Dam, is not stable. It dates back to the 1840s.
“What we found out was, it is in seriously poor condition. It should be reclassified as a high-hazard dam, and there’s significant risk to life and property if it should collapse,” he said. “We don’t know exactly what it would do, but it’s about 40 acres of water, about 15 feet deep, it’s a significant amount of water.”
He said climate change and frequent rainstorms are to blame. The report states that the inspection found vegetative growth, beaver activity, erosion and evidence of overtopping.
It also warns that a breach would come with no warning.
“Lack of instrumentation to monitor water levels means there is no ability to provide warning ahead of a breach event or notify the railroad and utilities,” the report reads.
“It’d be a heck of a disaster, I’ll tell ya,” Elliot Wilson, of Shelton, said. “The last [flood] I saw was in ‘55 and there was two of them. Everything washed away.”
Dunne added that the owners of the dam are not responding to their requests. Engineers recommend the water in the pond be reduced as soon as possible.
“There’s an owner, but the owner’s not been responsive. They basically acquired a bunch of these dams from a Spanish company and then abandoned this hydroelectric facility for intents and purposes,” Dunne said. “First step, we’ve notified the owner, we hope that they’re going to take action against this, but failing that, we have an obligation as a government to safeguard the health and safety of the people in the area.”
He said all involved parties have been notified, and they’re hoping to meet soon to come up with next steps.
Kinneytown Hydro Inc. did not respond to our request for comment.
