A controversial City plan to remove a beaver dam and hut from the Wells Avenue culvert has incentivized some to speak out.
Since 2022, increased beaver activity in the area has sparked widespread flooding, resulting in devastating consequences for residents and local businesses.
Mike Landau, Chairman of the 210 Nahanton Woods Condominium Association, said that the flooding has caused extreme damage to the property’s conservation land.
“If living trees are sitting too long in standing water, they die,” he said. “We used to have very rich, full forest, and now … trees have already died.”
Other properties have also been significantly impacted. The Newton Community Farm, located close to the dam, says that it lost about 10% of its crops in 2023 due to damage from flooding.
Additionally, in a statement to Fig City News, Newton Director of Utilities Thomas Fitzgerald said that the dam and hut are located directly above a City sewer hole, impeding access for utility maintenance.
Fitzgerald said that the common practice in Massachusetts is to trap and euthanize beavers that damage municipal infrastructure. While other options were considered, he said that environmental factors would make their implementation challenging.
“We brought in a consultant from the Beaver Institute for their expert opinion on whether we could mitigate the flooding issue above the sewer manhole while allowing the beavers to remain at the site,” he said. “[The experts] determined that the beavers would need a minimum of 3 feet of water to survive through the winter. Unfortunately, the 3 feet of water would still cover the sewer manhole and impact flooding.”
He added, “We will consult with the City’s Conservation staff to determine our next steps to possibly dismantle the dam to alleviate the flooding and to discourage their return.”
In order for the dam to be removed, the Department of Public Works would be required to obtain a wetlands permit from the Newton Conservation Commission. Chief Environmental Planner Jennifer Steel said that as of October 1, no such permit had been requested.
Steel said that even if the beaver dam were removed, more beavers would likely return, making the solution less effective in the long term.
“Dam removal is generally a temporary solution to beaver activity. Young beavers migrate to new territory, so this area is likely to continue to see beaver activity over the years,” she said. “Flow-leveling devices are considered the best long-term solutions, but I believe that DPW has determined that such a device would not work in this location and satisfy their interests regarding the sewer line.”
Some have voiced concerns over the City’s response to the beaver activity. Ward 8 City Councilor Stephen Farrell said that he hopes the City will further explore the potential for a flow-leveling device, which would allow the beavers to remain in the area while minimizing environmental damage. For him, protecting the beavers from potential euthanasia is essential.
“Why not build the flow device?” he said. “What do you have to do to get permission to move the lodge, if you really have to get access to a sewer hole that you haven’t had access to in 50 years? But why [would] we have to kill the beavers?”
Local environmental activist Joslin Murphy said that she hopes a resolution can be reached that would protect both the beavers and the nearby properties.
“My hope is that the City and the property owner very carefully consider both the importance of beavers from a conservation perspective, but also address this in the most humane manner possible,” she said. “I do believe that the property owner and the residents there and the beavers can coexist.”
Director of Utilities Fitzgerald told Fig City News that there has been no observed beaver activity at the site for three weeks, and the City now assumes the beavers have moved elsewhere. Nevertheless, he says, the City will continue to monitor the area.
Theo Younkin is a Fig City News student reporter, a junior at Newton South High School, and Co-Managing Editor of the NSHS Lion’s Roar.
