Failed culvert under the Little River Levee. (THE WESTFIELD NEWS FILE PHOTO)
WESTFIELD – In its continuing efforts to address issues at the Little River Levee, the Flood Control Commission is seeking to acquire private properties on the levee, and to clear trees and debris blocking broken culverts under the levee.
City Engineer Mark Cressotti said that the city needs to acquire the property that the levee is sitting on, much of which is private. He said they have done surveys, title searches and appraisals, and is next looking for approval from the City Council for $120,000 to purchase six parcels by eminent domain. He said the parcels are unusable to the owners because they are on the levee.
Cressotti said sometime in the 1950’s the Army Corps of Engineers built the levee, and obligated the city to do the takings of land where they built it, which was not completed. In the 1980’s, a piece of the levee was breached and repaired by the ACE, which ordered the city to maintain it.
“The rest of the levee is in sad shape, and under private ownership,” Cressotti said. He said the Army Corps won’t fix it until it is properly maintained and managed by the city. “We have a ways to go,” he said.
At the Flood Control Commission meeting on March 17, Chair Albert G. Giguere Jr. said they are also seeking permission to cut down seven trees and clear debris from the outflows of the culverts under the city-owned portion of the levee. which prevent backflows during flooding from the Little River and are not working properly.
Giguere said he consulted the ACE, which was of the opinion that as long as the roots aren’t disturbed, they can cut the trees impacting the outflow without a permit. Giguere said the city will seek a Notice of Intent f(NOI) rom the Conservation Commission to do the work, and needs funding to hire Tighe and Bond to do a wetland delineation at the site and prepare for the NOI. The cost of actual tree removal will be separate and additional.
The commission voted to set aside $10,000 to prepare for the NOI and do a wetland delineation at the site.
The Flood Control Commission has also submitted a recommendation to the mayor, which the Westfield City Council needs to pick up and make a determination on whether to give the green light for the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s (NRCS) to proceed with the rehabilitation of Powdermill Brook and Armbrook Dams, after a two years-long analysis and review, according to Cressotti.
