Save the trees or save the pond. We have a choice.
The state’s Office of Dam Safety has notified Newton that Bullough’s Pond Dam is in poor condition, and needs to be fixed or removed. Newton faces a hefty fine if we continue to dither. Repairs would cost north of $2 million and mean removing 179-199 trees.
That’s because these trees are growing in the dam, which dam engineers say makes it more likely that the dam will fail in increasingly likely heavy rain & wind storms. They even have a policy on it.
Were the dam to breach, it would send a wall of water downstream—and in its path would be Newton North, Cabot School, and over 450 homes.
There are three options to fix the dam before the Public Facilities Committee of the Council—the cheapest will mean cutting 199 trees (the administration has committed to replanting those trees elsewhere).
The other alternatives cost hundreds of thousands of dollars more ($600,000-$1.2 million), and cut almost as many trees.
The committee has asked for study after study, and done its due diligence. Now it’s time to decide.
At a time when schools need more funding—as does every other department in the city—incurring fees for not fixing the dam is silly. So is picking the more expensive options.
But the committee can save all the trees. They just would need to go back to an option they discarded early in the process: remove the dam. A nice wetland, which is probably what was originally there, would be more affordable long-term (no future dam repairs), and would have water quality and flooding benefits. All the trees in the embankment of the dam could remain.
Trees or pond.
There are good arguments for both options. But it’s time to decide.
Andreae Downs
City Councilor-at-Large, Ward 5
