Senate Institutions hears DEC request to cover Waterbury Dam inspection overruns as Army Corps share is renegotiated

DEC officials told the Senate Institutions committee on Feb. 6 that they are requesting a $150,000 capital budget adjustment to complete inspection, testing and necessary repairs on the tunnel and penstock systems at Waterbury Dam, a high-hazard state-owned facility. "We're requesting a $150,000 to be able to complete that project," the DEC section chief said, describing cost overruns that occurred after drought and winter weather delayed works and forced extra safety and de-icing measures.

The department said the tunnel is a 14-foot-wide, 11-foot-tall concrete arch feeding three steel penstocks (one 54-inch, one 40-inch) that convey water under the dam. The penstock inspections discovered unexpected conditions and welding issues that required additional confined-space entries, welding tests and safety measures, officials said, extending the schedule and increasing costs. DEC staff also said they temporarily used funds from an instrumentation design line and now seek to restore that money as part of the adjustment request.

Why it matters: Waterbury Dam is a high-hazard facility, DEC officials said, with an inundation boundary that places roughly 5,000 people and about 1,400 structures at risk in worst-case modeling and estimated dam-failure damages in…