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Town completes initial levee work

By Natasha Clark

Assistant Managing Editor





WEST SPRINGFIELD Northern Tree Service has completed work on West Springfield's dike system in time for the Jan. 31 deadline set by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE).

"ACOE came through and cited Springfield, West Springfield and Chicopee dikes with non-compliance with their regulations, and for us it was the vegetation growth. They required us to remove trees and vegetation within 15 feet of the base of the dike on either side," Mayor Edward Gibson explained.

If the requirements had not been met on deadline, the town's dike would have been removed from the active list. Gibson said 181 communities were sited across the country. This was the first year in a five-year plan to work on the West Springfield Flood Control System.

Department of Public Works head Jack Dowd said there will be an ongoing maintenance program. Gibson said it would include making sure structures designed to relieve any excess water pressure that might penetrate the dike system will be checked to make sure they are working properly.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has done an overhaul on the dike process post-Hurricane Katrina. Dowd said since the heightened awareness, "They changed some of the dynamics of what was acceptable and what was not." He said that dikes along the length of the Connecticut River base are being inspected and that "everybody is going to have to pay a little more due diligence. Before Army Corps of Engineers came out twice a year and now we're going to have be the ones to inspect and certify that they are in compliance and functioning in accordance," Dowd said.

The town budgeted $400,000 for the project and Gibson said that when everything is completed they expect costs to come in at just about that.

"ACOE and FEMA are very anxious to also have residents and businesses that are protected by these levee systems to understand the importance of them," Gibson added. "The levees are there for their protection. If it was not there, those in the flood plain, their houses or businesses wouldn't be there."

Gibson said the levees are built to withstand a 100-year storm, in some cases a 500-year storm, but still there is always the chance there may be some flooding. He said that those who are on the flood plain may want to think about getting ancillary flood insurance.