Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Levee Stormwater topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Former interim TA urges interagency review of Cocheco River levy as draft stormwater plans propose larger outlet pipe
Summary
Paul Sanderson told the Farmington Board of Selectmen that centralizing project data and convening DOT, DES, Army Corps and other agencies will be necessary before proceeding on levy work; a draft plan from Tighe & Bond proposes upsizing an outlet from 30 to 42 inches, raising bridge, permitting and environmental concerns.
Paul Sanderson, the town's former interim town administrator, urged the Farmington Board of Selectmen on April 13 to move project files out of a single town email account and convene an interagency review for planned work on the Cocheco River levy.
Sanderson said he has copied much of the historical levy data into a shared Google Drive inside the Selectmen folder and recommended the town identify specific point people for different project areas — facilities, solid‑waste management, highway maintenance, and water/sewer — so engineering consultants have clear local liaisons.
"Let people see the big picture," Sanderson said, arguing that consultants and state agencies need consistent, centralized information to design work that is feasible, timely and within budget.
Sanderson told the board that draft plans from engineering firm Tighe & Bond propose routing additional stormwater into a closed drainage system and increasing the outlet pipe size from 30 inches to 42 inches at the Main Street bridge outlet. He said that change would dramatically increase modeled discharge capacity and could require work on a bridge that is less than five years old.
"If you increase the flow from a closed drainage system, you also create a direct point‑source discharge into the river," Sanderson said, and added that such a change "is the sort of thing we have to discuss with DES." He flagged the need to coordinate with the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) divisions (including Dam and Wetlands Bureaus and Alteration of Terrain), the Department of Transportation, the Department of Safety, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Fish & Game because of permitting, bridge impacts and the presence of five threatened or endangered species in the project area.
Board members and Town Administrator Jason Henry said they had not yet received a promised draft contract from the Army Corps and that Tighe & Bond had recently provided draft stormwater materials that may not have reflected the full scope of local levy questions. King said the town should ensure consultants know the broader context so their designs do not create more problems.
Sanderson cautioned that earlier technical reports raised concerns about the current levy slope and suggested a major excavation could be required. He said the interagency approach — convened through DES’s multiple‑agency review process — would make it likelier that the project could be completed without unnecessary rework and within budget.
The board did not take a vote on the levy at the meeting. Sanderson recommended staff pursue an interagency form and meeting, and to populate a shared project folder so state and federal partners can see the existing data before final designs are pursued.
