Boggs Hill Road Residents Upset Over Lowered Water Level In Swamp

By Andrew Gorosko

Some Boggs Hill Road residents are upset over the town’s decision to lower the water level of a large swamp alongside that road, sometimes known as The Great Bogg, charging that the decreased water volume in the swamp poses ecological hazards to wildlife there.

The swampy area, which is visible from Boggs Hill Road just northeast of its intersection with Palestine Road, covers an area of approximately 120 acres, according to town land use records. The swampy property is largely owned by the Newtown Forest Association.

Resident Chet Hopper of 131 Boggs Hill Road said this week that on May 7 the town altered a rock dam, which is partially on his property, which holds back the waters of the swamp. That physical change caused much water to be released onto his nearby property and onto the properties of homeowners downstream of the dam, he said.

“It also reduced the water level [of the swamp] and exposed the bottom of the wetlands,” he said. “The drying up of the wetlands caused an ecological disaster resulting in the interruption of the nesting of many species of birds and other wildlife depending on the wetlands for their survival,” he said.

Although the dam and some related drainage pipes are partially on his property, he was not informed of the changes that the town would be making, he said.

After lodging a complaint with the Public Works Department, a town crew took steps to reduce the water volume flowing onto his property, according to Mr Hopper. 

The town, however, has partially drained the swamp, leaving its water level at a point that is still too low to sustain aquatic-habitat birds and other wildlife, he said.

Mr Hopper charged that by lowering the swamp’s water level, the town stranded nesting water birds, fish, turtles, and migratory birds, as well as shore-dwelling wildlife.

“It was pitiful and alarming to watch as Canada geese and wild ducks frantically circled, trying to reach their nestlings, but were unable to land on the exposed mucky bottom,” Mr Hopper and his wife, Paula, wrote in an open letter to their neighbors.

“Instead of sustaining wildlife, it will now make a great breeding place for billions of mosquitoes as the sun and the approaching hot weather will leave only stagnant puddles remaining” the Hoppers added.

The Hoppers urge that the town restore the swamp to its former water level.

In light of his concerns, Mr Hopper attended a May 12 session of the Conservation Commission to make his concerns known.

After discussion, commission members unanimously approved a motion requesting that the Public Works Department take immediate steps to stop the water from flowing out of the swamp in order to prevent possible irreparable damage to the significant breeding area for diverse wildlife.

On May 13, Mr Hopper and four other Boggs Hill Road residents attended an Inland Wetlands Commission (IWC) session in seeking to voice environmental concerns about the reduced water level in the swamp and the hazards which it poses to wildlife there.

IWC Chairman Anne Peters, however, said “The Boggs Hill Road matter is not on this evening’s agenda.”

Ms Peters told the residents that the issue is being handled at the town staff level and that the staff had not referred the topic to the IWC.

After leaving the session, Mr Hopper said, “These people are turning their back on it.” Concerned residents must pursue a solution with the state government, he said.

Ms Hopper said the situation is urgent, adding that she does not understand why the IWC would not listen to their concerns.

Oscar Janssen and Lynn Printy, both of 135 Boggs Hill Road, also attended the IWC session.

Mr Janssen said that he and Ms Printy moved to their home several years due to its proximity to the wetlands.

Resident Michael Sette of 156 Boggs Hill Road said that he has called the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) regarding the town’s drawdown of the swamp’s water level.

“There’s a problem because you’ve destroyed nesting [habitat]… Let’s just get the state involved,” he said.

“And then there’s the mosquito issue,” he added.

“We caught them off guard,” Mr Sette said of the IWC’s unwillingness to discuss the issue on May 13.

“There’s so many people that care about the environment in this town,” Ms Hopper said, expressing disbelief that the IWC was unwilling to listen to comments about the issue.

Public Works

Public Works Director Fred Hurley said that beaver activity created ponding at the swamp about 20 years ago.

“We’re not going to allow the beavers to threaten the roads,” he said of beaver activity creating the prospect of road flooding. The work that the town recently performed at the dam outlet of the swamp was done to prevent the flooding of Boggs Hill Road, he said.

The town lowered the water level in the swamp by about 18 inches, he said. Dropping the water level by 18 inches was a compromise, he said, adding that the town should have dropped the level by 36 inches.

Mr Hopper maintains that any puddling on Boggs Hill Road in that area is simply caused by poor road drainage, not by water draining out from the swamp and onto the road.

Town Conservation Official Rob Sibley said that he is reviewing whether the town’s actions at the swamp constitute a violation of the town’s wetlands regulations. Mr Sibley was on vacation when the town performed the work on the dam.

Mr Sibley said he expects to determine by May 15 whether a wetlands violation occurred. He said he is reviewing whether wildlife habitat has been damaged.

“This [environmental situation] could resolve itself in a few days,” he said of the need to study the residual water level of the swamp following the town’s work on the dam.

If any enforcement action is taken against the Public Works Department, it would be a topic on the IWC’s May 27 meeting agenda, he said.

“I need to research the matter,” Mr Sibley said.