Dams keep local rivers under control

WINSTED — Though the Mad and Still rivers furiously rushed along at higher than normal levels with the heavy rains this week, the two waterways generally stayed safely within their banks here in town, thanks to some effective 1950s engineering.

The Mad River, which was responsible for the devastating Great Flood of 1955, has been managed by the state Department of Environmental Protection’s Mad River Dam along Route 44 near the Colebrook border.

The dam, built by the Army Corps of Engineers in the mid-1960s after the big flood, ensures that during heavy rain events like the state experienced earlier this week, the river stays within its banks.

But it is not the only dam in town. Winsted actually owns and manages two other dams: the Rugg Brook Reservoir Dam and the Crystal Lake Dam.

Both structures were originally built more than 115 years ago to create a more robust water supply system for the borough of Winsted.

In 1893, Winsted — which had been drawing its water from Long Pond (now known as Highland Lake) — created the Rugg Brook Reservoir by constructing a masonry wall dam across the Rugg Brook Valley and sealing off other low points in the terrain with earthen dikes.

That same year, Winsted’s water department constructed the original Mad River Dam and a half-mile long canal to divert water from the river into the Rugg Brook Reservoir. They then created an aqueduct to connect the reservoir with Crystal Lake.

After the Rugg Brook Dam project was completed, Winsted turned its attention to Small Pond (now known as Crystal Lake), where the borough constructed a dam across the outlet of the natural lake, raising the water level by 10 feet to create a reservoir. The town then connected the lake to the water distribution system in Winsted.

Both reservoirs were placed in service and operating by the fall of 1895. The water distribution system continues to serve the town now in much the same way it did then.

Now, however, the Water and Sewer Commission is looking to make general improvements and repairs to the town-owned dams and dikes, after some age-related deterioration has been identified within the system by the state DEP’s Office of Dam Safety. The last major repairs for leakage or other deterioration on either structure occurred in the 1930s.

According to a 2008 dam investigation engineering report commissioned by town as part of the maintenance project, Crystal Lake Dam is in “good condition,� with required repairs consisting primarily of “modest improvements� to the earthen embankment and spillway structure.

Water and Sewer Commission Chairman Richard Nalette told The Journal Tuesday that work at Crystal Lake has been estimated to cost about $350,000.

More extensive work will be required at Rugg Brook Dam. Although the report states that the dam is “structurally sound,� several areas of leakage have been identified and need to be repaired. Nalette said the maintenance costs for the Rugg Brook portion of the system have been estimated at some $2.5 million.

Currently, the commission is looking into the possibility of obtaining a federal grant for the project through the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development.

Nalette said, however, that the USDA application process is an “expensive� and “complicated� one, so the commission is still exploring the feasibility of applying.

Commission members are also looking into other avenues to obtain funding to help the town complete the project.

Although no timetable has been set for the project’s completion, Nalette said the state is “rattling its saber� to get the maintenance and repairs underway.

The commission is hoping that once funding has been secured for the project, the town can begin the process of applying for the several permits required to allow for the work, paving the way for the actual construction to begin.