Crews began removing the structurally unsound Rome Dam on the West Branch of the Ausable River this week.
Located less than 2 miles upstream of Ausable Forks, the Jay Town Board voted in March of 2017 to remove the dam after an engineering study found that it posed a threat to residents downstream because of its potential to fail. The engineering study found that it was structurally unsound and would be especially vulnerable during a flood.
Kelley Tucker, executive director of the Ausable River Association, said the study found that consequences of not replacing the dam were serious.
“There was the potential for loss of life,” Tucker said.
The Rome Dam was 38 feet tall and 103 feet across and made of concrete.
The dam was originally built in the early 1890s and then rebuilt in the 1930s. It provided water and mechanical power for the J&J Rogers Company pulp mill. It had not been maintained since 1971 when the Rogers Company ceased operation.
The dam assessment was a result of the town of Jay’s New York Rising Community Reconstruction Plan, which was undertaken in the years after Tropical Storm Irene. That storm took place in August 2011 and caused serious flooding, devastating communities located nearby.
Milone and MacBroom, the firm that did the engineering study, estimated the cost of the dam removal to be $2.5 to $3 million. Work is expected to be completed by Nov. 15.
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(c) Adirondack Explorer, 2018