Mike Noble of Southwick checks the water damage, bottom right, to his yard and driveway after Wednesday’s heavy rainfall. Noble said the damage was caused by the clearing of woodland above is property where a new solar farm is being built on College Highway near the Big Y. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
SOUTHWICK – Wednesday’s rain caused major problems for several residents of College Highway who live in front of the new solar project being built by Big Y.
Runoff from the project left one homeowner without a driveway and another without a usable backyard.
Michael Noble, who lives right next to the access road to the project, said there was always some runoff from the hill, but not like what he experienced this week.
“It was never like this before,” said Noble. “It was never this bad. They cleared out the woods and the water came right through my property – my backyard is destroyed.”
Dirt and debris cover the vegetation in the backyard of Mike Noble of Southwick after Wednesday’s heavy rainfall. Noble claims his property damage is due to the new solar farm being built just above his property line on College Highway. (Photo by Frederick Gore)
Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Randy Brown was on scene during the storm and the next day. He said representatives from the solar company, RGS Energy, and design firm Design Group, Inc., as well as Big Y, were also on-site along with town officials.
“There is pretty significant erosion,” said Brown. “It is pretty clear that it is runoff from the project.”
The solution to preventing a similar event lies in a redesign of the stormwater plan, which currently includes a rock bed around the property that flows into a detention basin at the front of the property where Big Y is located.
Last year, Matthew D. Puntin of S-K Design Group of Pittsfield, explained a site plan of a new 1.83 megawatt solar array to members of the Southwick Planning Board. The new array covers 2.7 acres of land south of the Big-Y Supermarket in Southwick. (File photo by Frederick Gore)
Noble said the system in place now failed completely and now he has to wait for the cleanup to begin.
“It did absolutely nothing. I have a sump pump running to get the water out of my basement, but I can’t use my yard,” he said. “It is a disaster.”
Noble said he spoke with Matthew Puntin of Design Group, Inc. and attended a meeting with the Southwick Planning Board yesterday morning and he was told it would be “a week to 10 days before anyone could do anything about it.”
Noble’s neighbor Marty Baillargeon’s gravel driveway washed into the road Wednesday afternoon. Workers helped put it back into place quickly and she was thankful.
“I’m very impressed that not only the town offices, but representatives of the project, have been very cooperative,” she said.
Noble was not as impressed.
“I’m very upset,” he said. “It’s a nightmare.”
Brown said everyone was working to get the situation resolved.
“They’re getting it cleaned up as best they can,” said Brown. “They will likely be adding a new drainage swale.”
Brown said the conservation commission, building and health departments, and MassDOT were also on site.
“We did have a lot of rain in a short period of time,” said Brown, noting there was about five inches of rain in a four-hour period. “I do expect a revised drainage plan will be submitted to the planning board for a modification to the permit.”
In April of 2013, plans for the ground mounted photovoltaic solar array were presented by Puntin and Project Manager Elizabeth Driscoll to the Southwick Planning Board.
The board approved the site plan review, and approved a stormwater management plan contingent on submission of an updated drawing featuring a 50-foot track pad at the driveway to keep constuction dirt from reaching the road as much as possible.
Puntin said the project received approval of the Conservation Commission prior to the Planning Board presentation.
The array was to be owned by Hudson Energy and Big Y would be the off-taker.
“They can net meter several stores with this,” Driscoll said at the time.
Puntin said during the presentation to the planning board that most of the parcel is wooded and there would be clearing of much of the land, leaving a buffer of wooded area between the installation and residences to the south.
“Under the panels, vegetation will continue to grow,” said Puntin. “We’re clearing trees but leaving brush.”
Water was to run off the panels under adjacent panels, and a five-foot wide by three-foot deep stone trench would surround the perimeter of the installation. A six-foot chain link fence was also planned around the panels.
Puntin said the trench would act as a detention basin.
“This allows the water to perc back into the ground,” he said.
Driscoll said the nearly two megawatt array would connect directly to the grid and Big Y would receive discounts on electricity. Driscoll said she was not sure of the cost of the project, which was a number decided between Big Y and Hudson Energy.
The board questioned whether or not there was a plan in place for removal.
Puntin said while he did not know the details of that plan, he vouched for Big Y’s care of their property to the board.
“Big Y is very protective of their properties,” he said. “They’ve been on top of everything.”
