Owners will assess the 115-year-old structure

By Avice Meehan

Time and nature have taken their toll on a 1911 dam and spillway located at the western edge of Tobey Pond. The structures, which have withstood many significant weather events, received a “poor” rating in a recent inspection report required by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP).

The inspection, conducted by Todd Parsons, a senior project engineer for Haley Ward Inc., identified “deficiencies that require remedial work including tree removal, restoration of the embankments after stump removal and reconstruction of spillway.” The engineering report also noted it had been “several decades” since any work had been undertaken at the dam.

The 188-foot Tobey Dam is rated BB, which means that a breach would pose only a moderate hazard risk of causing downstream damage. The inspection was conducted on June 24 for the dam owners, Anne Childs and the Great Mountain Forest (GMF), and filed with DEEP in July.

Both Childs and representatives for GMF say there is no significant cause for concern and that a report required by DEEP would be filed by Oct. 1. That report will outline the timeline and scope of more intensive engineering studies and potential remediation plans.

Mike Zarfos, GMF’s executive director, said the organization was working closely with Childs and providing updates to property owners around Tobey Pond and First Selectman Henry Tirrell. The dam was registered with DEEP in 1993 and should theoretically be inspected every seven years. Legislation enacted in 2013 also requires DEEP to send regular inspection notices to dam owners; such a notice triggered the inspection.

“GMF is committed to engaging the community throughout this process. We will continue to communicate as more information becomes available,” Zarfos said in an email, noting that it may take a year or more to develop a full assessment.

The state uses a letter-based classification system from A to C to rate the risks posed by dams. For example, Class B and C dams, of which there are several in Norfolk, pose more serious risks to life and property. The “poor” rating, as defined by DEEP means that remedial action by a dam owner is necessary.

The dam was built shortly after Frederic C. Walcott and Starling W. Childs began acquiring land around Tobey Pond, assembling the parcels that now constitute GMF. Their descendants still own property around Tobey, and GMF leases land on the pond to Norfolk for the public beach. The forest was controlled by the Childs family until 2003, when Starling Childs’ descendants transferred the property through the Forest Legacy Program of the U.S. Forestry Service. It is now managed by the non-profit Great Mountain Forest Corp.