Tobey Dam Inches Along

By Avice Meehan

The owners of the Tobey Pond dam have taken the first steps toward addressing deficiencies identified in the 115-year-old dam and spillway by filing a detailed response with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and holding an informational meeting with interested landowners around the lake.

The timeline for completing assessments of the dam extend into 2029, according to the detailed filing with DEEP. That being said, Anne Childs and Great Mountain Forest (GMF) have committed to removing trees that have grown into the earthen dam as early as this coming winter and to exercise the release valve on the spillway at least once a year. In the near term, the berm would also need to be leveled and replanted, although the stumps would be left until a later date.

Speaking on behalf of GMF and Childs at the Oct. 8 meeting at the Norfolk Hub, GMF Board Chair Dalton Dwyer said that tree removal and remediation of the dam’s deficiencies would require negotiating access with property owners, raising the money for the work and lining up the necessary permits. The dam can only be reached via Gamefield Road and dirt pathways, all of which are in private hands.

The dam owners have solicited proposals from two engineers with the requisite expertise to lead development of a longer term plan: Todd Parsons of Hayley Ward, a regional engineering firm, and Karl F. Acimovic, a consulting engineer from Eastern Connecticut. Parsons conducted the inspection earlier this year that gave the Tobey Dam a “poor” rating and, among other findings, said the spillway needed to be reconstructed. The 188-foot dam is rated BB, which means it poses only a moderate hazard risk of causing downstream damage.

Dwyer noted that the two engineers have markedly different views of the Tobey Dam and spillway, which was built in 1911 and last inspected in 1984. “The two engineers do not have the same perspective. But what’s important for us [is to] follow the advice,” Dwyer said, adding that later that no one wants to “sign off on a prescription that would be overkill.”

Tobey Pond is home to the town beach, which is leased from GMF for $1 a year, and is also ringed by small wooden cabins, many of which were constructed decades ago. “It is a community asset and not just a property asset,” said Dwyer. He and GMF Executive Director Michael Zarfos have briefed First Selectman Henry Tirrell. Property owners who attended the meeting expressed support for the work and a willingness to contribute to the effort