Dear Friend;
For 130 years water has poured over the Upper Roberts Meadow Dam, however just when we most need to tap this resource for green power, when local wildlife is most threatened, when water is recognized as our most important and finite resource, and when Northampton Fire Department officials suggest we install a dry hydrant to enable fire fighters swift access to refill their tanker trucks, the City is opting to tear this dam down and drain the reservoir! We ask for your immediate help to protect this environmentally important, beautiful and historic site.
This granite block dam, located on Chesterfield Road, was built nearly 130 years ago to create a backup water supply for the City, within just a few years it was no longer in use and many species of wildlife have reclaimed it and depend upon this habitat. Countless passersby consider this site to be one of the most beautiful views in Northampton, and one of the rare and most-accessible areas in town to catch a glimpse of a river otter eating a fish on the ice in winter, a wading blue heron in the summer, or photograph reflections of foliage in the fall. In 2005, after decades of neglect by the City, the State declared the dam to be in poor condition and the City was given a choice: repair or remove it. In May of 2009 local citizens learned of the City’s decision to remove the dam and have formed a group to protect this treasure and the habitat that supports many species of wildlife, but we need your financial support to save this site. Please help by sending your gift today.
The cost of repair is only $25,000 more than the cost of removal, so the question is simple: Should Northampton spend over $1 million to remove the dam and disrupt the region’s eco-system and create an eyesore by draining the Reservoir OR should it repair the current dam, meet safety codes, protect the region’s wildlife, install a dry hydrant so the Fire Department will have resources to fight local fires, and tap this dam for micro-hydro so the dam can pay for its own future upkeep? The choice is clear, but we do need help. The Board of Public Works wants 50 years of maintenance funds up front before it will save the dam or it will accept proof that the micro-hydro will pay for the future upkeep (the maintenance amount is significant: $625,000). We need your help to raise $8,000 now to hire a micro-hydro engineer and a hydrologist to definitively determine the extent of the available micro-hydro power that the site can produce. Again, we hope the micro-hydro power will offset some/all of the $625,000. We commit to grant write for hydro equipment and permitting should this be feasible, and to seek funds to install the dry hydrant.
We have less than 6 months to prove that the dam can pay for itself via micro-hydro power, or to raise 100% of the necessary funds or the City will not spare the dam. Only dollars will change the City’s mind. Please, send your support today by sending your check to The Friends of the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir at the address below.
Sincerely,
Your Neighbors, The Friends
PS: We hope you have questions and are interested in getting involved. Email us at savethechesterfieldroaddam@gmail.com or call Dee & John Clapp (584-1703) or Fran/Wayne Thibault (586-1779) and visit our website for more information. See a partial list of our Frequently Asked Questions below. We also invite you to attend the Public Forum on Jan. 20th, 7-9 pm at Leeds Elementary School to hear the City’s consultant GZA present their concerns about the current dam’s safety issues, and to support the Friends in their efforts to protect this important and beautiful site.
Your presence and your help are most welcome!
Friends of the Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir and Chesterfield Road Dam
PO Box 561, Leeds MA 01053 http://sites.google.com/site/savethechesterfieldroaddam/home
From our FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) page on our website:
Should I be afraid? Not any more today than yesterday. The DPW Public Forum invitation letter trying to scare people is a moot point since THIS dam will not be allowed to remain in THIS poor condition. The current ‘poor’ condition dam will not threaten Leeds because it will be repaired, inspected and cared for. (Read more on our website.)
What is a “High Hazard” dam? This is about location, location. This dam has been deemed a high hazard dam for decades and will hold the same designation as long as there are people in Leeds. High Hazard is the Office of Dam Safety’s designation for ANY dam that has property or humans downstream or any possibility of damage to property or loss of life. Many dams in the state are high hazard. Even a new state-of-the-art dam would still be considered “High Hazard” due to its location only. See details at the Office of Dam Safety website.
Why not restore the stream or let it revert back to its natural state? Removing the dam and draining the reservoir will not return the area to its pre-reservoir state. The Roberts Meadow Brook has been completely disrupted; it formerly meandered across Chesterfield Road and has been replaced by 1.6 miles of riprap channel. Unless the City is willing to remove Chesterfield Road, reconstruct and reconnect the Roberts Meadow Brook, this area will never return to its natural state. What exists now is what nature reclaimed over the last 130 years, and it should remain as it is, with no additional disruption to the species that have created harmony and equilibrium in this special place.
What is the issue around Brook trout? While we sympathize, the reality is that removing this dam is not going to make much – if any – positive impact on brook trout. Brook trout don’t migrate, many living their entire lives within 100 yards of where they spawned. Their lives won’t be enhanced by removing this dam, since this would only will allow fish to travel 1.6 miles along a canal before they reach the next reservoir, which IS back-up water for Northampton and it will not be removed. The canal is manmade (rip rap) laid stone that lacks “shelves” for shade and places to hide and while brook trout may prefer colder water, other species prefer it warm. The reality is that we need this dam for clean, green renewable energy in order to protect all species – including brook trout. For more information, see Laurie Sanders response to this issue in the Sept. 3, 2009 Valley Advocate article, "Reservoir Lost?"
Why does the dam have so many names? The official name is Upper Roberts Meadow Reservoir and Dam. Many mistake it for the Middle Roberts Meadow Reservoir dam above Musante Beach, so we use “Chesterfield Road Dam” to distinguish them.
