State officials outline Waterbury Dam overhaul, say federal funding largely in place

Summary

DEC officials told the House Corrections & Institutions Committee the Waterbury Dam spillway project is now in design with a refined cost estimate of roughly $76.2 million, $40 million in federal appropriations on hand, and work dependent on Army Corps partnership and a planned 30–50-foot reservoir drawdown during about two years of construction.

Deputy Commissioner Neil Kamen and Ben Green, the Department of Environmental Conservation’s dam-safety section chief, updated the House Corrections & Institutions Committee on plans to repair and replace the aging spillway and gate system at Waterbury Dam.

Kamen said the project is a partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the state’s congressional delegation, and that the Corps currently holds about $40 million in federal appropriations tied to the project. “We have $40,000,000 of federal funds in the bank,” Kamen said, and DEC is seeking an authorization ceiling lift—through the Water Resources Development Act—so Congress could authorize up to $80 million for the full program.

Green walked members through the dam’s profile and the technical scope of the spillway project. “Waterbury Dam was completed in 1938,” Green said. He described the structure as one of the state’s largest flood-control facilities — 187 feet tall — serving flood protection, a 5-megawatt hydropower plant operated by Green Mountain Power, and popular recreational areas that include two state parks.

DEC o…

State officials outline Waterbury Dam overhaul, say federal funding largely in place

Summary

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