Exeter, Brentwood residents clash over dam removal plan
EXETER – The fate of the Pickpocket Dam on the Exeter River sparked a fierce debate last week among residents over whether or not it should be removed.
Jake San Antonio, managing director of engineering company VHB, presented the town Feb. 27 with six alternatives to address the deficiencies of the structure near the Exeter and Brentwood town line.
The state Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) has classified the dam as a high hazard following a reclassification study in 2018 that predicted “a dam breach during the 100-year flood event would result in flooding in at least one residential building,” according to a report.
“The dam does not meet the current NHDES safety standards,” according to a report to the town from VHB.
Antonio said NHDES is updating its rulemaking, which, if approved, would require dams to pass a 1,000-year flood event.
Antonio recommended three of the six alternatives to correct the dam’s deficiencies, including one to spend $3 million to raise the top of the dam to withstand a 100-year storm event. The second alternative, the most expensive at $3.6 million, proposed keeping the existing height but constructing a secondary spillway on the left side of the dam.
The third option, the cheapest of the three, was to remove the dam completely.
Antonio said removing the dam would cost $1.5 million and has the potential to be subsidized by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant that the town applied for last October.
According to the VHB report, alternatives one and two would have no impact on water levels up to the 100-year flood event. However, larger floods may cause slightly higher water levels upstream. Both alternatives will not have a noticeable impact on the area’s landscape, the report stated.
Removing the dam, however, would reduce flood risk by lowering water levels during all storm events. The report also concludes no negative impact would occur from removing the dam.
Residents air concerns about dam removal, others support it
Several residents expressed concern with the speed of the project and what they called a lack of transparency about the process. They advocated the town conduct more study and research before committing to a final decision.
Jaye Garnett and her daughter, Ellen, said they did not support the removal of the dam. Jaye is a member of the Friends of the Exeter River and is behind a Change.org petition to “stop the removal of Pickpocket Dam.”
“Some type of dam has been there since 1652,” said Ellen Garnett. “This is an ecosystem that is hundreds of years old. The damage caused by dam removal cannot be mitigated or reversed. More study from an independent and objective source is needed before such an important decision can be made.”
“Our lives are deeply intertwined with this beautiful place in nature,” said Jaye Garnett, who lives near the dam. “If they remove the dam, it’s not just water that will be lost, it’s a natural environment, our peace and tranquility.”
Jaye Garnett also called out VHB for not including abutters in the feasibility study as she was only contacted by the company after it was completed.
“The flier promoting the meeting says public participation is crucial to ensure the feasibility study will go through, (and be) accurate and responsive to the community needs,” she said. “But no one in the public was contacted by VHB as part of their study. I was not contacted until after those studies were completed.”
Moe Shore, an abutter and member of the Friends of Exeter River, said the town’s decision to apply for the grant to remove the dam was premature.
“I find this ironic for a state that can endure the chaos of two feet of ice and snow on any given day in winter, but one wet carpet every thousand years, that’s when we draw the line,” he said on the rationale for the dam removal.
David Kovar said many are against the dam removal due to “a very strong emotional attachment.” However, he believes removing the dam is “the right thing to do,” both financially and environmentally.
Sheila Roberge said although the dam is “the most special place” to her, “the time has come.”
“Every day in Exeter we are destroying the environment… this is our one small chance to mitigate something that should’ve been done years ago,” she said. “There’s no purpose to that dam, it ended when the factories shut down… I felt really conflicted about the Great Dam, but now, when I kayak up that river, you can’t even tell that this has happened.”
Town Engineer Paul Vlasich said the town and VHB will consider public comment before making any decision. Residents have until Thursday, March 21, to submit their input on the dam through email at pickpocketdam@exeternh.gov or mail to the Department of Public Works at 13 Newfields Road, Exeter, 03833.