The construction to repair and restore the Lower Pond is finally underway. Walker Construction of Waterbury began site work Mon, April 23.

The pond was drained last summer after the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources Division of Dam Safety determined that the 40-year old dam no longer met its requirements.

The Division of Dam Safety performs routine checks, and its findings here at JSC were not at all unusual for a dam of this type and age.

After the pond was drained, the extent of the needed repairs became clear.

“We found that a lot of the subsoils needed to be re-compacted and replaced,” says Dean of Administration Sharron Scott.

The work, which was scheduled to occur last fall, had to be postponed. “We learned that the repairs that we were hoping to do in the fall were going to be more expensive than we’d anticipated,” said Scott. “That was because at the same time we were bidding the work, it was the same time that all the contractors in the state were working on Hurricane Irene, so we had a drastic change in pricing from what we had originally estimated.”

Many contractors were working for the state and towns for double and quadruple their normal rates during to rush to repair the damage caused by the tropical storm. By postponing the repairs until this spring, the administration was able to bring the work in at around the original estimated cost of $250,000.

Additionally, the pond is being altered to reduce the amount of water which it will impound, an alteration to change its status in the eyes of the VANR.

The new and improved Lower Pond will no longer be scrutinized by the Division of Dam Safety.

The pond is primarily spring-fed, though it does catch some runoff from the surrounding hills. The water escapes through a stand-pipe, which is positioned vertically in the column of water, allowing the water to drain when it reaches a certain height. This height will be lowered from about 13’ to 7 or 8’.

Removing the pond altogether was an option, as was done to the old Upper Pond, but the school felt it wasn’t a viable option given the Lower Pond’s place in the hearts and minds of students, alumni, and staff.

“With this pond there is so much culture and history that goes along with it,” says Scott. “There are a lot of things from an alumni standpoint that really makes people very fond of it. There were bonfires that happened down there, bands, and other things.”

Scott reports that the repairs are expected to be completed by July at the latest, and that the pond should be filled by the time classes start in the fall. By next year, the surrounding landscape should be recovered to its natural state.