Southwick Lake Management Committee questions authority behind dam reconstruction project

SOUTHWICK — June 25, 2026 — Southwick's Lake Management Committee raised questions about whether the town has authority to approve a dam reconstruction at 159 Feeding Hills Road, as the project's engineer missed a November 2025 completion deadline and promised a revised schedule by July 3. Conservation Commission representative Norm Cheever presented photographs from a June 12 site visit showing extensive millings and trap rock surfacing in the area surrounding the dam — which the property owner described as erosion control but which prompted committee members to note it resembles a parking lot — along with two trailers, a dump truck, and heavy equipment staged on the site. Cheever told the group "the consultant is going to produce a schedule on July 3rd to complete a project that the town probably doesn't have the authority to approve," citing the likelihood that any in-line impoundment requires DCR dam safety approval that has not been obtained. The committee also flagged a potentially oversized 28-foot boat at a rental dock on Congamond Lake, noting state rules prohibit vessels over 26 feet and ban boats with heads aboard, and confirmed a $67,754 third-year contract with Stantec for Hydrilla environmental DNA monitoring. Minutes from the May 28 meeting were approved 6-0; the June 11 minutes passed with one abstention from a member who was not present.