The Wiley and Russell Dam is still set to be removed.
View full sizeThe deteriorated gate control at Greenfield's Mill Street Dam in an undated photo from a 2007 report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is set to be repaired and the city is planning to install a fish ladder.GREENFIELD – Instead of removing the Mill Street Dam, the city now plans to repair it and install a fish ladder. The Wiley and Russell Dam is still set to be taken out.
Public works director Sandra D. Shields has said that neither dam serves a modern function and using them for hydroelectric power is not cost-effective. Removing the Mill Street Dam would cause sediment to damage bridges and utility pipes upstream.
“The river would start downcutting and eroding back to its original stream bed,” said Laurence Petrin, engineering superintendent for the DPW. “Any utilities, any bridge abutments, would have a tendency to be affected by that scour.”
“To prevent the scour, we would actually have to build other structures in the river,” he said. Shields said that problem drove the change in the design.
“Our ultimate responsibility is to protect infrastructure along and in the river,” said Shields in a press release. “The removal option at Mill Street dam requires infrastructure protection that is ultimately more expensive and more difficult to maintain than repairing the dam.”
The concrete pier supporting the gate controls is deteriorating, the spillway is in fair condition and the outlet works area is in poor condition, according to a 2007 study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Since 1999, the city has been weighing its options for dealing with the four dams on the Green River that have become financial and environmental liabilities. Fish ladders are planned for the Swimming Pool and Pumping Station Dams, which are still useful.
Removing the Wiley and Russell will help fish such as blueback herring and Atlantic salmon migrate to upstream spawning waters. It is classified as a significant hazard, meaning if it fails it could cause loss of life and property damage. It is in poor to unsafe condition, the corps study said.
View full sizeA failed sluiceway at Greenfield's Wiley and Russell Dam in an undated photo from a 2007 report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The dam is set to be removed.According to the press release, the state Office of Dam Safety gave the city an ultimatum: repair it or remove it. Removal will open up 0.3 miles of spawning waters, according to the corps study.
Fish ladders at the other three dams would provide access to another 18.8 miles, according to the same report.
The cost of the project was not available by press time, nor was the expected timetable.
The project is a partnership with the corps, Connecticut River Watershed Council, the non-profit American Rivers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and several other public and private organizations.
During the permitting process in the coming months, the public will have an opportunity to offer input.