Work may start in September; slowdown due to permit process

It’s going to be a while before Huddleston Pond can be restored to its natural self, as a project to repair the dam and spillpipe is taking longer than many initially thought.

Part of the delay is due to the process of seeking federal permits for the work, City Engineer David Borkowski told the City Council last weekend. This city is hoping to speed up wetland disturbance permits so construction can occur in the summer and avoid the rainy season, Borkowski said.

For right now, though, “we anticipate a September construction date,” Borkowski said.

This drew ire from council members who were under the impression that the project would soon go out to bid and be underway. Borkowski said one of the permits needed will take an estimated four months to secure although the city will try and expedite the permitting process.

“We can go sit on EPD’s desk,” suggested councilman Steve Boone, noting that the project has been ongoing for almost two years.

The last update the City Council got on the project was in October, and at the time they were told the repairs would start in February. Borkowski said he was to blame for not updating council again on the matter when the timeline changed significantly.

Project funding will come from the city’s stormwater utility program, officials said.

Part of the project involves removing trees from the current earthen dam, which is 20 feet tall. The dam will be rebuilt, replacing the current steep slope into the lake with a slope that can be mowed by city staff, which will help with maintenance issues, Borkowski said.

The fish in the pond are still alive because it is fed by an underground spring, Borkowski noted.

The city is also taking soil borings on site to determine if the city can use soils present at the pond instead of paying to have new soil trucked in. That alone could save about $100,000, Borkowski said. That also has added to the project’s timeline, he added.

The 5-acre pond holds about 7.5 million gallons of water when full, and if the drainpipe led the dam to fail, it could endanger persons downstream. Thus the city decided to drain the lake to a much smaller pool that while looking poorly from an aesthetic point of view keeps a bigger problem from happening until the problem can be fixed.