Leaky Rogers Lake dam nearing its repair date

to repair the dam. Earlier this month, the Board of Selectmen voted to endorse a project to both fix the leaky dam and build a fish ladder to enable alewives to migrate upstream. The total cost is expected to be $ 290,000, First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder said.

The endorsement allows the town to apply for grants for the construction of the fishway. The Connecticut River Watershed Council

has said it would help the town fund the fish ladder, estimated to cost $ 12,500, Reemsnyder said.

“At this point, it’s not a required part of the plan for the Rogers Lake dam,” she said. “But if it is a voluntary part, they will help fund it. So it made sense to voluntarily say, yes, we’ll make it part of the project.”

While the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme share the 250- acre lake, the dam is on Town Woods Road in Old Lyme and therefore Old Lyme’s responsibility to fix.

The dam leak has been attributed to a rock that bent the frame into which the metal gate slid, Reemsnyder said. In 2001, the then- Department of Environmental Protection identified the dam as a “Hazard Class B,” saying the dam “could cause damage in the event of failure,” according to a Jan. 3, 2001, letter from the DEP.

The problem dates back anecdotally some 22 years; residents in the Rogers Lake neighborhood complained in 2005 that the leaky dam was dropping the lake water level and drying out their wells. Then-first Selectman Timothy Griswold said at the time that the low water table was due to a dry summer, not the leaky dam.

The town began looking into repairing the dam in 2003. But the project was delayed due to high estimates on the cost of repairs and a lack of state funds four years later.

The dam likely will be repaired next summer. Griswold, who as former longtime first selectman is familiar with the dam, will serve as the town’s liaison on the project, Reemsnyder said. j.cho@theday.com