A study is underway by the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission to look at the options for the Upper Bondsville Dam. This study will be completed in mid-2010 and no decision on the dam is going to be made before then.
Why did this come about? The BLT received a notice from the Massachusetts Division of Dam Safety that the dam is in poor condition and that we needed to come up with a solution by November 30, 2009. That is why we started the study, that is why we are getting public input into the process.
The Tighe & Bond report (available at www.belchertownlandtrust.org) estimates that it will cost $350,000 to fix the dam. We have NO idea what it would cost to take it down, which will also probably involve years of paperwork. Either way, the BLT does not have the money and we have to start looking at what we are going to do.
Posted by Sue on March 30, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Hello, is there somewhere to look for the history of the dam, such as who built it? thanks. Sue
Posted by Ed Comeau on March 31, 2010 at 8:44 am
Sue…the Board of Directors is working on compiling that information right now by looking back through deeds and records. It is a pretty daunting undertaking and we’ll share what we come up with. Ed Comeau, BLT Board of Directors