Killingly residents press for notice, accountability and options after pond drawdown

Residents at a Killingly Town Hall meeting pressed state and town officials for clearer notice, more accountability for long-term maintenance and options to preserve Old Killingly Pond after DEEP authorized a drawdown to address dam-safety concerns.

"Facebook would a Facebook post be notification to the residents who live on Dam Road?" asked Kelly Fisher, who told DEEP she had not been notified through the EAP process and said she first saw the drawdown in a photo the day after work began. DEEP responded that EAP notification requirements trigger different alerts (for an overtopping event) and that the dam owner is responsible for notifying emergency personnel and the town under the EAP; the town said it would serve as a public clearinghouse for DEEP updates.

Several residents raised maintenance and accountability concerns. Justin Fisher described what he called a conflict of interest involving a local representative who monitors the dam while also operating excavation work in the area. "There is a huge conflict of interest that we are seeing across the pond and what Wish has for a representative," he said, urging the town to act to protect the pond as a public resource. DEEP said monitoring and removal of vegetation are responsibilities of the dam owner and that DEEP's file contains inspection records the public can review.

Residents asked how they will be kept informed as Wish prepares technical studies. Town manager Brian Polaya said the town would create a dedicated web subsection and publish FAQs and updates from DEEP and the town’s single point of contact. "What we can do is create a subsection on our homepage to funnel information from DEEP," Polaya said.

Wish representatives who spoke at the meeting described the company as a legacy asset owner that has paid taxes and said it would prefer to divest the dam if a party would take on the cost of ownership. "We would be happy to have someone use that as a platform communication for Wish ... Wish is more than happy to divest this," one representative said.

Residents urged independent review; DEEP said owner-submitted studies are public and can be critiqued by third parties. Multiple participants said they want the pond repaired and restored rather than permanently drained.

Provenance: Questions about notification and the EAP were raised by Kelly Fisher and others during Q&A (SEG 586–SEG 709); conflict-of-interest concerns and demands for accountability were raised in public comment (SEG 840–SEG 1016); the town's pledge to publish updates was made by Town Manager Brian Polaya (SEG 1936–SEG 1947).