State's most dangerous dams stabilized, officials declare

After a weekend of dam inspections, state officials have whittled a list of 186 hazardous dams down to 161, and have completed basic repairs on ten dams posing the most danger to human life and property.

This comes a week after key beams buckled in the Whittenton Pond Dam in Taunton, prompting a state of emergency for that city and leading Governor Mitt Romney to call for emergency inspections of more than 100 dams across the state, many of them privately owned.

Inspectors decided that eight dams besides the one in Taunton needed immediate, state-funded repairs, which were undertaken. The quick fixes are expected to keep the structures functional this week, with a spate of rainstorms predicted.

''There is no imminent threat now," said Stephen Burrington, commissioner for the state Department of Conservation and Recreation, at a State House press conference yesterday.

The eight structures given emergency repairs were: Monument Dam in Freetown; Mountain Lake Dam in Chicopee; Carding Mill Pond in Sudbury; Hager Pond in Marlborough; Houghton Pond in Holliston; Mount Williams Reservoir in North Adams; Roberts Meadow Upper Reservoir in Northampton, and Windsor Reservoir in Dalton.

In those cases, state workers addressed the problems by either lowering the water levels or clearing logs and debris to enhance water flow. The Taunton dam was replaced with a stone structure.

More than 100 other dams in the state are still considered in need of repairs. Of the original 186 deemed hazardous, 25 have been upgraded to good condition.

State officials said they are encouraging private dam owners to register and participate in a new dam regulation process that would, in part, enforce a more efficient dam inspection report system.

''We certainly want to get them all to good condition as soon as possible," said Burrington. ''From this point on, the job is to deal with the legacy of decades of neglect."

The eight repaired dams will be continually monitored, Burrington said. Additionally, Uxbridge's Rice City Pond Dam will be more extensively examined, said Burrington. The state has removed 12 to 13 trees from that dam's area and closed the road atop the dam. The Rice City structure had already been identified as needing repair, he said. This week's rains prompted officials to expedite construction and design work for repairs on that dam.

Costs for the dam repairs are unknown. Officials said they hope that federal disaster dollars will pay for some of the repairs.

Officials said many of these dams have no known purpose, except, in some cases, creating pretty ponds. As the state evaluates each dam, they might consider removing some of them, provided sediments found near the dams are not environmentally harmful. It is unclear when that portion of the dam project will begin.

Adrienne P. Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com