Help is on the way for three local dams thanks to recent authorization of federal funding for water infrastructure. The funds are pending presidential approval.
The passage of bill S.2800 “reauthorizes provisions of the Water Resources Reform and Development Act of 2014 pertaining to expedited consideration of water resources infrastructure through 2024,” according to Congress.gov.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt., jointly announced Oct. 10 that congressional approval of the bill would allow Vermont to get money to fix up the aging Waterbury, East Barre and Wrightsville dams. These dams are all located in the Winooski River basin.
Funds would come from the America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 with the purpose of implementing safety improvements on dams built before 1940, according to a news release. Sanders and Welch offered an amendment, which authorizes up to $40 million to study, design and construct control gates, spillways and other improvements.
The East Barre and Wrightsville dams were built between 1933 and 1935 by the Civilian Conservation Corps, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ website. The East Barre dam was built for flood protection primarily for Barre and Montpelier following the flood of 1927, which caused at least 84 deaths statewide in addition to massive destruction of buildings, bridges and roads. Wrightsville, in Middlesex, was constructed to reduce flood damage to Middlesex and Montpelier.
Construction for the Waterbury Dam started in 1935 and ended in 1938. It was built as a regional effort to reduce flood damage in the Winooski River basin and was modified in 1958, and again in 1981. The U.S. government later transferred ownership of the dams to the state of Vermont, but did not include dam maintenance financing. The Waterbury Dam, notably, needs improvement following damage caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.
{span}”We’re grateful that this funding has advanced to the next level,” said Waterbury state Rep. Tom Stevens in an email Tuesday. “Repairing this dam is a public safety necessity, and we’ll continue to be anxious about it until the funding is secure and the work is finished.”{/span}
Stevens wrote in June about problems concerning previous damage to the dam caused by Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. “The last estimate I heard (some time ago, now) was that the new repairs would cost over $20 million, which is minimal considering the amount of damage that would occur if that dam failed in a significant way. I was told 10 years ago that if the dam completely failed, Waterbury Village would have about 45 minutes to evacuate. This money, for which we are eligible, would only be a beginning.” Stevens said that the dam provides flood control and energy generation, so keeping it safe is very important to Waterbury Village, as well as to residents of Bolton and Richmond.
“These dams are essential pieces of Vermont’s infrastructure,” said Sanders, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Maintaining and repairing the dams – especially the Waterbury Dam – has long been a priority for the state. This bipartisan legislation is an important step toward rebuilding aging dams in Vermont and throughout the United States.”
Welch said, “In 2011, Waterbury suffered a devastating flood during Tropical Storm Irene. More catastrophic damage was prevented due to the existence of the aging Waterbury Dam. This important legislation will increase funding to refurbish outdated and hazardous flood control dams in Vermont and across the country.”
America’s Water Infrastructure Act of 2018 has been sent to the president for his signature.
It also authorizes money to support testing in school water supplies for lead and PFAS, disaster aid to repair drinking water systems, requires projects to use iron and steel made in the U.S. and authorizes money to support technical assistance to smaller public utilities to help meet Clean Water Act requirements, among other things. It also authorizes the Army Corps of Engineers to develop solutions that reduce the occurrence of harmful algae blooms.