It will be just under the wire, but it looks like Dansville officials will complete a state-mandated review of the village’s dam and reservoir ahead of an Aug. 19 deadline — a date set after a two-year extension from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Representatives from engineering firm MRB Group met with the village mayor and trustees last Wednesday to wrap up the final steps before submitting an engineering assessment and emergency action plan to the DEC.
The dam and reservoir sit in the town of Wayland and empty into Little Mill Creek, which flows from the reservoir, crosses state Route 63 and joins Mill Creek before passing near Holy Cross and Greenmount cemeteries, though Brae Burn, past Noyes Hospital, under Interstate 390 and into Canaseraga Creek.
Engineers gave a mostly positive report about the site.
“What we’ve seen so far is reasonably good,” Jim Peet of MRB Group said. “There are a few issues with it, but I don’t think any of them are critical or cost-prohibitive.”
He pointed out that the spillway will require some work. He also noted that one valve used to control water level has been inoperable for several years, but the other is functioning.
Peet explained that the dam is classified as a Class C High Hazard dam according to state rules, due to the elevation of the dam and its proximity to a populated area. His recommendations beyond the requires spillway repairs, include installing a post to gage water level and extending the face of the dam so as to make it less steep and easier to maintain.
The emergency action plan considers the emergency situations created by a major rain event — something much worse than the 100-year storms commonly used as a benchmark for engineering — as well as a dam breech or collapse and a combination of those two emergencies.
“The most likely thing that will happen is that there is a major storm event,” Peet said.
The EAP sets criteria for advisory, warning and emergency levels for dam emergencies and the village will be required to keep an updated action plan that involves emergency response agencies.
The board of trustees also addressed the possibility of selling or leasing the currently unused land around the reservoir — some 130 acres. Taxes alone for the reservoir, dam and the surrounding land cost the village more than $30,000 annually.
This year, cost of ownership will entail some survey work and costs associated with the reporting process. MRB Group waived their fees, but the village will need to pay $1,650 for a soil stability study, $4,800 for a hydraulic analysis and $7,000 for a land survey.
It will be just under the wire, but it looks like Dansville officials will complete a state-mandated review of the village’s dam and reservoir ahead of an Aug. 19 deadline — a date set after a two-year extension from the state Department of Environmental Conservation. Representatives from engineering firm MRB Group met with the village mayor and trustees last Wednesday to wrap up the final steps before submitting an engineering assessment and emergency action plan to the DEC.
The dam and reservoir sit in the town of Wayland and empty into Little Mill Creek, which flows from the reservoir, crosses state Route 63 and joins Mill Creek before passing near Holy Cross and Greenmount cemeteries, though Brae Burn, past Noyes Hospital, under Interstate 390 and into Canaseraga Creek.
Engineers gave a mostly positive report about the site.
“What we’ve seen so far is reasonably good,” Jim Peet of MRB Group said. “There are a few issues with it, but I don’t think any of them are critical or cost-prohibitive.”
He pointed out that the spillway will require some work. He also noted that one valve used to control water level has been inoperable for several years, but the other is functioning.
Peet explained that the dam is classified as a Class C High Hazard dam according to state rules, due to the elevation of the dam and its proximity to a populated area. His recommendations beyond the requires spillway repairs, include installing a post to gage water level and extending the face of the dam so as to make it less steep and easier to maintain.
The emergency action plan considers the emergency situations created by a major rain event — something much worse than the 100-year storms commonly used as a benchmark for engineering — as well as a dam breech or collapse and a combination of those two emergencies.
“The most likely thing that will happen is that there is a major storm event,” Peet said.
The EAP sets criteria for advisory, warning and emergency levels for dam emergencies and the village will be required to keep an updated action plan that involves emergency response agencies.
The board of trustees also addressed the possibility of selling or leasing the currently unused land around the reservoir — some 130 acres. Taxes alone for the reservoir, dam and the surrounding land cost the village more than $30,000 annually.
This year, cost of ownership will entail some survey work and costs associated with the reporting process. MRB Group waived their fees, but the village will need to pay $1,650 for a soil stability study, $4,800 for a hydraulic analysis and $7,000 for a land survey.
That last figure dropped in the days that followed the board’s meeting in July 18. Trustee Pat Kreiley objected to paying the initial price of $8,600 because there wasn’t a competitive bid.
“That’s the way we do business,” Kreiley said. “We get competitive bids.”
Citing an Aug. 19 deadline to complete the studies, compile information and submit the reports to the DEC, Trustees Don Sylor and Dick Whitenack joined Mayor Peter Vogt in approving the initial $8,600 but agreed to seek a lower bid. Trustee Jay Griffith was unable to attend the meeting.
Kreiley told the Express Monday in a phone interview that the village had obtained a bid from a local surveyor for approximately $7,000.
“The devil really is in the details,” she added in an email later in the day. “Being careful, thoughtful, diligent and paying attention to details require a tremendous amount of work but the results are certainly benefiting our community.”
The bid for the soil stability and hydraulic analysis was approved unanimously.
