PART 4: Lake Garfield Dams
A New Dam by Linda Thorpe

In last month’s issue, the story left off with the dam under stress from high snowmelt and an existing leak becoming worse. The county engineer and then the Army Corp of Engineers recommended the lowering of the lake at once. Large pumps were brought in, evacuation plans were made for the village, and a twenty-four-hour watch was put in place. Once the water level was brought down, the dam continued to be inspected every four hours.

Thus began, in 1968, the arduous task of planning for the present-day dam and creation of Brewer Pond out of a swamp, which would not culminate until 1973. Plans were to include straightening the roadway to remove a dangerous curve and creating a new and improved beach area.

Robert Brown, doing business as Robert G. Brown Associates, was assigned the task of geological tests and determining the best location for a new dam by Massachusetts Department of Public Works, Division of Waterways (see map above).

Progress was slow. From 1969 through 1970 many meetings were held both locally and in Boston, by many departments and committees.

All this was not done without great concern on the part of our downstream neighbors in New Marlborough, particularly Hartsville. About fifteen residents of Hartsville went to their selectmen asking that something be done for their safety. A committee of nine was appointed and a delegation appeared at our next selectmen’s meeting. Selectman Howard Wells updated the delegation on the steps being taken to correct the problem. These included repairing the spillway and keeping truck traffic off through April and probably until all work was completed. He said that the town had been trying to get funding for the last two years. And that a twenty-four-hour vigil was being maintained.

Emergency legislation was passed in 1969 for reconstruction of the dam. Monterey voted to appropriate $30,000 to start the process of purchasing the five parcels of land that would be needed to build the new dam. In 1970 the legislature passed an appropriation of $350,000 for the project.

The original plan included protection for a water well on the Arnold Pratt property. But because of the landtaking and slight changes in the project boundaries, a decision was made to purchase the Pratt property. A special town This construction photo shows the curved wall of the old dam and the old Tyringham Road. The roadbed for the rerouted Tyringham Road, and causeway over the equalizer pipes, is being built at the right. 19  meeting had to be called to add money for the appraisals of the properties, including the Pratt property.

With the land acquisitions, final plans in place, contracts out to bid and awarded, and funds available as of July 1, 1970, construction was anticipated to start in the spring of 1971 with a projected completion date of six to eight months.

Work commenced on the project in April 1972. Midway through the construction, in August of 1972, a petition with approximately one hundred signatures of primarily summer residents at the lake was presented requesting that the design elevation of the new lake level be raised six inches above the old normal lake level. After much discussion with many individuals and groups, the selectmen agreed to a four-inch increase. This was approved on September 6, 1972 and instructions relayed to the designer and contractor to proceed to construct the facility to the new elevation. This change added an additional impoundment capacity of over thirty million gallons to the lake.

Some interesting facts in connection with the project are that approximately 55,000 cubic yards of material were incorporated into the project, and approximately 40,000 cubic yards of various materials were excavated from the area. This fill was deposited in an area just to the left as one turns onto Beartown Mountain Road. The area was covered and leveled at the end of the project. This represents about 8,000 truckloads of materials. Sand and Brewer Pond as seen from the northwestern end of the new dam. At right above, the 350- foot dam, with the emergency spillway beyond. At right below is the outflow pipe at the base of the dam and a dry hydrant for fire protection along Beartown Mountain Road.  gravel were trucked in from a new gravel bank just below the lower pond of the US Fish Hatchery on Hatchery Road in Hartsville. The new dam was constructed of earth taken from the land where the emergency spillway now is at the south end of the dam. The control spillway itself is constructed of concrete with an iron gate, and three-foot concrete tube at the bottom running under the earthen dam. The overflow at the spillway was built four inches higher than the old one, so the two lakes have a new elevation at 1286 feet. Five-hundred-thirty feet of seven-foot-diameter pipe were used as equalizers between the new and old lakes underneath Tyringham Road. Seventeen acres of land were cleared, including all the stumps from the new pond area, so the bottom is free of hazards and potential decaying materials. The Tyringham Road was relocated slightly to the west up “Scott Hill” to eliminate a hazardous curve (near Amidon’s cottage at the north end of the current town beach park). In addition, a new well was drilled to replace one that had been in the construction area and had supplied several cottages.

— Linda Thorpe, Monterey News, December 2021
— Color photos by Stephen Moore.