AMHERST — The state has declared an earthen dike at Puffer’s Pond a possible long-term threat following recent inspections, though town officials said this week that the dike is not failing and there are no immediate risks to people whose homes are downstream from the pond.
The Factory Hollow Dike, which helps maintain the level of water in the pond, is in poor condition and poses a significant hazard potential, according to state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Office of Dam Safety.
“(The agency) has determined that Factory Hollow Dike does not meet accepted dam safety standards and is a potential threat to public safety,” wrote Leo Roy, commissioner of the Office of Dam Safety, in a May 21 to Assistant Town Manager David Ziomek.
The Office of Dam Safety issued a certificate of noncompliance and a dam safety order as a result of the inspections.
Ziomek said that the town is ready to take actions needed to make sure the dike’s condition is improved, but he also said homes bellow the dike on Mill and Summer streets are not in danger.
“I want to assure you and the public we are on top of that,” Ziomek said.
The dike is located 140 feet east of the home at 64 Mill St. and near the section of the pond known as the north beach.
The inspections were done by Tighe & Bond Inc. and Chappell Engineering Associates LLC on Oct. 28, 2011 and July 28, 2016. Their findings included mature trees growing on and within 10 feet of the abutments, animal holes on the upstream face and grass being too short on the crest and downstream face of the dike.
“These foregoing deficiencies compromise the structural integrity of the dam and present a potential threat to public safety,” Roy wrote.
The order mandates that immediate work and follow-up inspections take place, and that the dam be brought into compliance through repairs by Nov. 30, 2019.
In a phone interview Wednesday, Ziomek said that timeline indicates to him that the work needs to happen, but is not urgent.
“I believe it’s a long-term risk,” Ziomek said. “We don’t want the dike structure to be compromised.”
Ziomek said the immediate steps to improve the dike will be removing trees that are growing on top of it, lowering perennial vegetation and filling in rodent holes from chipmunks and other animals that have burrowed into it, all of which can be done by Conservation Department staff. Permits will need to be obtained from the Conservation Commission and possibly the Office of Dam Safety before this work happens over the summer.
Once complete, the dike will be looked at again by an engineer to see if additional work needs to take place.
More complicated could be undercutting of the dike, caused by the motion of water in the pond. If this is happening, the dike repairs may have to be done when the water level is low.
Ziomek said the dike gets less regular inspections than the Puffer’s Pond dam, a more prominent feature at the site. The dam is inspected every year.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
