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Conservation Commission ratifies DPW emergency certification to breach beaver dam at 45 Wellworth Street
Summary
The commission ratified an emergency certification allowing the Department of Public Works’ vendor to breach a beaver dam at 45 Wellworth Street to reduce flooding; the permit prohibits full dam removal.
The Lowell Conservation Commission voted to ratify an emergency certification issued to the City of Lowell Department of Public Works to breach an existing beaver dam at 45 Wellworth Street to relieve a flooding emergency.
The certificate authorizes a limited breach to allow water to flow and abate flooding; it does not authorize full dam removal.
A Department of Public Works representative told the commission the city’s long-standing vendor, Rochester Wildlife, performed breaching work and had reduced the water level, noting some re-building of the dam had occurred and that subsequent efforts had been successful in bringing levels down. The representative said, “they were able to to relieve the issue that we're having with the dam. They've breached it and, we had some rebuilding issues that have gone on there, but they've they've, they've had some successful, attempts at this point where we we're able to bring the water level down.”
Commissioners asked no further substantive questions. A commissioner moved to ratify the emergency certification and another commissioner seconded. The motion passed on a recorded voice vote; commissioners responded “Aye.”
The ratification records the commission’s acknowledgement of the DPW emergency action; the underlying emergency certification remains an administrative action of the Department of Public Works and the vendor. The permit language the commission reviewed specifically limited work to breaching the dam and did not allow whole-dam removal.
