State Expected to Drain Lake Beseck in October for Dam Repair

After over a year of preparation, a plan to completely repair the Lake Beseck Dam to the tune of $2.6 million is expected to begin.

By mid-October, the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is expected to begin draining the Middlefield lake so that contractors can begin the dam repair process, Selectman Edward Bailey said this week.


The project was initially supposed to start before Labor Day, however it was pushed back. The state said it hopes to have the project finish by December 2014.

Bailey said the water will be drawn down approximately 14-15 feet and the process will take roughly two months. The actual construction portion won’t begin until, ideally, after Thanksgiving, Bailey said.

After that, don’t expect to see the lake brought back up to normal levels until well into 2014.

“The state says job will take 300 days,” Bailey said.

In the meantime, Middlefield officials are hoping to take advantage of the drawn down water levels to tackle another lake issue: dredging.

There are sediments and phosphates that have collected at the bottom of the lake, which have flowed in over time and need to be removed through a dredging process, Bailey said. Because it can be a costly endeavor, Middlefield is pursuing state funding for the project and will apply for a $500,000 grant through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program, officials said.

“We’re hoping we’ll get something,” Bailey said. “If we don’t get it, then we will pursue other means of funding.”

He said the money would likely go toward dredging specific areas in the lake, as to do the entire thing would be “in the millions” in terms of cost.

Editor's Note: We initially stated that the lake would return to normal levels in 2013. This was incorrect, as we actually meant to write 2014. We've since corrected the error.