This photo from the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments shows boats clearing debris from Lake Zoar.
DERBY – Members of the Lake Housatonic Authority are worried that the plan to send debris from Sunday’s historic floods over the Stevenson Dam and down the Housatonic River could damage properties, clog Lake Housatonic with junk and impact the Long Island Sound.
They are also questioning whether the plan by FirstLight violates an official “debris management plan” on file with regulatory agencies. FirstLight is the company that owns the Stevenson Dam.
The authority has asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to intervene.
However, officials at FirstLight said the plan isn’t to open a faucet and send everything from Lake Zoar over the dam and into Lake Housatonic below.
“Safety is the number one concern for us when it comes to trying to reduce debris,” said Len Greene, the vice-president of external affairs at FirstLight. “We have teams on the lake, the Lake Zoar Authority has teams on the lake, to pull all the big destructive stuff out as much as we can.”
Greene also said FERC is aware of the cleanup plan that started to be implemented at 6 a.m. Thursday.
Orientation
Lake Zoar is the section of the Housatonic River formed by the Stevenson Dam.
Lake Housatonic is below the Stevenson Dam. It’s the section of the Housatonic River between Derby and Shelton between the Stevenson Dam in Oxford and the Ousatonic Dam in Derby (often called the Derby Dam).
Neighborhoods on the lake include The Maples in Shelton and McConney Grove in Derby. The beach at Indian Well State Park is on Lake Housatonic, too, along with Yale’s Gilder Boat House, The Recreation Camp and single-family houses.
Story continues after the Google Map below.
A Google Map showing the lower portion of Lake Housatonic, a section of the Housatonic River, just above the Ousatonic Dam (also called the Derby Dam).
The Debris Field
The Aug. 18 flooding dumped a massive amount of trees, mud, boats, propane tanks, jet skis, asphalt, wood – even cans and bottles – into Lake Zoar.
The video below is an edited portion of a video posted by a Facebook page called Waterbury Citizen on Aug. 19. It shows the debris field at the Stevenson Dam. The story continues after the video.
The FirstLight Plan
FirstLight started to clear the debris today (Aug. 22). They’ve sent two press releases (here and here) since the Aug. 18 flood explaining the plan.
Smaller, woody debris was scheduled to go over the Stevenson Dam on Thursday, according to the press releases.
Green said the stuff pressed directly against the dam can’t be sifted through because it’s too dangerous. That stuff made its way over the dam Thursday morning, he said.
“The vast majority of it, at least what we were able to see and identify, was small, woody debris. Most of the big stuff is stuck up against the boat barrier which is about 100 yards out or so away from the dam,” he said.
FirstLight said the Housatonic River has returned to pre-flood levels, so any debris would float slowly down the river.
“The release of debris over the sluice gates of the dam is a normal practice and regular occurrence throughout the year in this active river system,” according to FirstLight.
Opposition
However, members of the Lake Housatonic Authority said the debris field gathered at the Stevenson Dam is unprecedented, and that sending it down the Housatonic is dangerous.
Mike Stahl, the chairman of the Lake Housatonic Authority, said the group met Aug. 20 and have sent a letter opposing FirstLight’s cleanup plan. Local and state officials have been notified, too, Stahl said.
“The debris field would cause risk of life and personal property ultimately causing a second disaster that was ‘man-made’,” the group posted on its Facebook page. “We are officially requesting an immediate stop to their planned push of debris into Lake Housatonic until an official FERC review can be done.”
The Lake Housatonic Authority is a group that watches over Lake Housatonic, from marine patrols to weed management to water quality. Its members are appointed by local governments in Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton.
Jim Olson, an Oxford resident who serves on the Lake Housatonic Authority, said he asked FERC this week whether FirstLight’s cleanup plan is in violation of a 2005 “debris management plan” on file with FERC.
Olson said that plan has FirstLight mechanically removing debris from Lake Zoar by skimmer, or, according to a 2019 amendment to the document, other vessels or methods.
Allowing debris to flow over the Stevenson Dam and down the Housatonic River does not appear as an option in the documents. However, Greene said the removal process being used on Lake Zoar is permissible.
Stahl has lived in McConney Grove in Derby for 30 years. He said if the debris field floats by slowly, it could get stuck in Lake Housatonic or damage property along the shore.
“Look, the water came (on Sunday) and there was nothing anyone could do about that,” Stahl said. “That was unavoidable. But now they are going to dump 34 acres of debris onto us. They are trying to pacify us by saying they are going to run it slow, but then it’s not going to flow and it will get stuck here.”
Greene countered this point by saying the method being used is the safest alternative. He said the debris field in Lake Zoar poses a risk if bad weather returns over the next few days.
“We are trying to avoid an uncontrolled release,” Greene said. “From our perspective, and from our operations and engineering personnel, it was safer for us to release it now when it’s a slow, meandering flow and let it go downstream, as opposed to waiting.”
Stahl said FirstLight should spend the time and money to clear all debris out of Lake Zoar.
“The easy thing is to open the door and let it go. Then it becomes our problem, and the Long Island Sound’s problem,” Stahl said.
Residents along the lower Housatonic River also used The Valley Indy Facebook page to state their opposition to the FirstLight cleanup plan. Click here to read the comments.
Greene, a former Seymour Selectman and state Representative, said he previously lived on Roosevelt Drive in Seymour across from the Housatonic River.
“I understand the fear people have, but we are doing everything we can to minimize the impact,” Greene said. “Candidly, there is a lot of fear out there that things can be made worse. That’s what we are trying to avoid. That’s why we’re doing what we’re doing.”
