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August 08. 2012 12:21AM
Nashua's Jackson Falls Dam to get a makeover
NASHUA — Two agreements have been approved by city officials that will allow significant improvements to be made to the Jackson Falls Dam, possibly decreasing the water level of the Nashua River by about four feet during flooding.
The agreements, unanimously granted by the Board of Aldermen this week, will also enable the Cotton Mill Square project to move forward. It’s a multimillion-dollar housing plan that was originally proposed in 2006 but stalled because of the economy.
In order to lower the 100-year floodplain zone and solve future downtown flooding, the city is entering into agreements with Nashua Hydro Associates and Cotton Mill Square, LLC, which will build an adjustable crest gate for the 180-feet dam that now operates as a run-of-river dam, not a store-and-release dam.
A crest gate uses a compressed air piping system and steel plate operation to inflate or deflate the gate automatically when necessary, coordinating with the rise and fall of the river.
This $1 million improvement to the flood elevation will potentially affect about 70 properties along the Nashua River that are now in the 100-year floodplain zone, according to engineers.
If a conditional letter of map revision is authorized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, those properties will no longer be in the floodplain zone and not require flood insurance, John Lavigne of H.L. Turner Group in Concord said previously.
The adjustments to the dam will pave the way for the Cotton Mill Square project to begin, which includes the revitalization of a 108-year-old historic building on Front Street, about 100 apartment units, contamination cleanup and a riverwalk.
The separate, $26 million mixed-income housing project by developer John Stabile has already received approval from various state and federal agencies.
“The project is finally financially feasible,” Stabile said earlier, stressing it would only be doable if the dam is improved and the building is no longer standing in the floodplain.
The Jackson Falls Dam is owned by the City of Nashua, but is leased to Nashua Hydro Associates until 2014.
“Neither agreement has anything to do with ownership of the dam,” Attorney Stephen Bennett told aldermen on Monday. “This doesn’t transfer any rights.”
Now that improvements to the dam have been approved by aldermen, the gates should be ordered in early 2013, and work on the dam could take place next summer, said officials.
Alderman-at-Large Mark Cookson questioned why the crest gates were being built at Jackson Falls Dam instead of upstream at Mine Falls Dam.
Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said she would also like to see similar improvements be made at Mine Falls Dam.
“It is my fervent hope that we would be able to do the same thing,” she said.
Kimberly Houghton may be reached at khoughton@newstote.com.
The agreements, unanimously granted by the Board of Aldermen this week, will also enable the Cotton Mill Square project to move forward. It’s a multimillion-dollar housing plan that was originally proposed in 2006 but stalled because of the economy.
In order to lower the 100-year floodplain zone and solve future downtown flooding, the city is entering into agreements with Nashua Hydro Associates and Cotton Mill Square, LLC, which will build an adjustable crest gate for the 180-feet dam that now operates as a run-of-river dam, not a store-and-release dam.
A crest gate uses a compressed air piping system and steel plate operation to inflate or deflate the gate automatically when necessary, coordinating with the rise and fall of the river.
This $1 million improvement to the flood elevation will potentially affect about 70 properties along the Nashua River that are now in the 100-year floodplain zone, according to engineers.
If a conditional letter of map revision is authorized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, those properties will no longer be in the floodplain zone and not require flood insurance, John Lavigne of H.L. Turner Group in Concord said previously.
The adjustments to the dam will pave the way for the Cotton Mill Square project to begin, which includes the revitalization of a 108-year-old historic building on Front Street, about 100 apartment units, contamination cleanup and a riverwalk.
The separate, $26 million mixed-income housing project by developer John Stabile has already received approval from various state and federal agencies.
“The project is finally financially feasible,” Stabile said earlier, stressing it would only be doable if the dam is improved and the building is no longer standing in the floodplain.
The Jackson Falls Dam is owned by the City of Nashua, but is leased to Nashua Hydro Associates until 2014.
“Neither agreement has anything to do with ownership of the dam,” Attorney Stephen Bennett told aldermen on Monday. “This doesn’t transfer any rights.”
Now that improvements to the dam have been approved by aldermen, the gates should be ordered in early 2013, and work on the dam could take place next summer, said officials.
Alderman-at-Large Mark Cookson questioned why the crest gates were being built at Jackson Falls Dam instead of upstream at Mine Falls Dam.
Mayor Donnalee Lozeau said she would also like to see similar improvements be made at Mine Falls Dam.
“It is my fervent hope that we would be able to do the same thing,” she said.
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Kimberly Houghton may be reached at khoughton@newstote.com.