Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Beacon Gets $2 Million for Dam Rehab
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Beacon Gets $2 Million for Dam Rehab
Project designed to increase climate resilience
New York State announced on Jan. 2 that it is sending $2 million to the City of Beacon, which will cover about half the cost of fortifying the Melzingah Reservoir Dam against increasingly frequent extreme weather.
Melzingah, along with the Mount Beacon and Cargill reservoirs and three wells, provides drinking water for Beacon, parts of the Town of Fishkill and the Fishkill Correctional Facility.
The grant is part of $22.7 million awarded by the state to Climate Smart Communities. The Beacon City Council has authorized spending $1.9 million to complete the $3.9 million project, which should go out to bid this year, City Administrator Chris White said.
The dam is considered a Class C High Hazard structure, meaning that if it fails, the "uncontrolled release" of up to 58 million gallons of water would likely cause deaths and widespread property damage. In July 1897, the first Melzingah dam did burst, sending a 15-foot wave down the mountain. Three adults and four children were killed. In 1924, the current dam was constructed nearby.
Even if the dam held during extreme weather, flooding caused by overflow could cover the Metro-North tracks or Route 9D. The land surrounding the dam is part of Fahnestock State Park, including portions of the proposed Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
The hazard classification won't change because of the repair work, but the dam likely will no longer be considered by the state to be in "poor" condition, White said. "This is one of the adaptations to make sure that the water supply remains available and that we don't adversely affect the people downstream," he said.
The grant, announced by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, will raise the dam's crest and increase its spillway capacity to better absorb runoff during storms, such as the one that hit in July 2023, dumping 8 inches on the Highlands. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in a study that year that the Hudson Valley could experience such "100-year storms" every 11 to 25 years.
The city completed a similar project in 2023 at the Mount Beacon Dam and in 2022 made repairs to prevent leaks at the smaller Pocket Road Dam. Engineering recently began on repairs to the transmission line of the Cargill Dam, which is owned by the city but located in Philipstown.
According to the DEC, the remediation will allow the Melzingah Dam to safely handle 50 percent of the "probable maximum precipitation," adjusted for climate scenarios projected for the next 10, 20 and 30 years.
Before the award, Beacon had received more than $891,000 in Climate Smart grants from the state due to its status as a "silver" community, the program's highest level.
Among other state grants announced on Jan. 2, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, based in Beacon, received $675,000 to restore the sloop's topsides and transom; the City of Newburgh got $6.9 million to create 209 mixed-income downtown apartments and $2 million to build a deep-water pier for river cruise ships; and the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill was awarded $1.78 million to upgrade its HVAC system to create a community cooling center. There were no grants to entities in Putnam County.
View all episodes
By Highlands CurrentProject designed to increase climate resilience
New York State announced on Jan. 2 that it is sending $2 million to the City of Beacon, which will cover about half the cost of fortifying the Melzingah Reservoir Dam against increasingly frequent extreme weather.
Melzingah, along with the Mount Beacon and Cargill reservoirs and three wells, provides drinking water for Beacon, parts of the Town of Fishkill and the Fishkill Correctional Facility.
The grant is part of $22.7 million awarded by the state to Climate Smart Communities. The Beacon City Council has authorized spending $1.9 million to complete the $3.9 million project, which should go out to bid this year, City Administrator Chris White said.
The dam is considered a Class C High Hazard structure, meaning that if it fails, the "uncontrolled release" of up to 58 million gallons of water would likely cause deaths and widespread property damage. In July 1897, the first Melzingah dam did burst, sending a 15-foot wave down the mountain. Three adults and four children were killed. In 1924, the current dam was constructed nearby.
Even if the dam held during extreme weather, flooding caused by overflow could cover the Metro-North tracks or Route 9D. The land surrounding the dam is part of Fahnestock State Park, including portions of the proposed Hudson Highlands Fjord Trail.
The hazard classification won't change because of the repair work, but the dam likely will no longer be considered by the state to be in "poor" condition, White said. "This is one of the adaptations to make sure that the water supply remains available and that we don't adversely affect the people downstream," he said.
The grant, announced by the state Department of Environmental Conservation, will raise the dam's crest and increase its spillway capacity to better absorb runoff during storms, such as the one that hit in July 2023, dumping 8 inches on the Highlands. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted in a study that year that the Hudson Valley could experience such "100-year storms" every 11 to 25 years.
The city completed a similar project in 2023 at the Mount Beacon Dam and in 2022 made repairs to prevent leaks at the smaller Pocket Road Dam. Engineering recently began on repairs to the transmission line of the Cargill Dam, which is owned by the city but located in Philipstown.
According to the DEC, the remediation will allow the Melzingah Dam to safely handle 50 percent of the "probable maximum precipitation," adjusted for climate scenarios projected for the next 10, 20 and 30 years.
Before the award, Beacon had received more than $891,000 in Climate Smart grants from the state due to its status as a "silver" community, the program's highest level.
Among other state grants announced on Jan. 2, Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, based in Beacon, received $675,000 to restore the sloop's topsides and transom; the City of Newburgh got $6.9 million to create 209 mixed-income downtown apartments and $2 million to build a deep-water pier for river cruise ships; and the Paramount Hudson Valley Theater in Peekskill was awarded $1.78 million to upgrade its HVAC system to create a community cooling center. There were no grants to entities in Putnam County.