Projects totaling about $7.2M will restore Lexington ponds. Here are development plans
Two Lexington ponds that have sat empty for five years are beginning to show signs of life again.
Work is progressing simultaneously at the privately-owned Old Mill Pond and the town-owned Gibson Pond, slowly restoring the water system that flowed through the southside of town before flooding in 2015 wiped out the local dams.
At the Old Mill Pond on East Main Street, a large pile of red earth sits beside the old mill, now converted into breweries, restaurants, shops and other business space. Drivers who park in what was once the lakeside parking lot can still look over the ledge to the lake bottom, but now moving water can be seen moving along the once-dry floor.
Pond co-owner Laban Chappell said crews have moved at least 30,000 to 40,000 cubic yards of dirt, which will be reinforced with a concrete sheeting anchored into the ground and the side of the mill building. Work on the dam could be finished by the end of May, but Old Mill LLC, the owners of the property, won’t raise the water level until after the town finishes work on a walking trail later this year.
“Not soon enough” is how Chappell describes the challenging of finishing the dam work, where work started in September. “We’ve been working on this for five years.”
Parts of the old mill were flooded and damaged during the October 2015 flood, but the businesses in the building quickly bounced back despite the sudden absence of the lake they were based around. In November 2019, Hazelwood Brewing opened in the building, with plans to use hydropower once the pond is refilled.
Chappell hopes to keep the total cost of the project under $2 million. He hopes the investment in the property will still pay off long term when the pond is refilled. The surrounding property could still be developed, and hydropower could be used to power lights on the walking tail. Chappell is also a co-owner of Hazelwood and Old Mill Brewpub.
“We were a month away from turning (the hydropower) on when the flood it, and it’s been five years before we could get it up and running,” he said.
A five-minute drive away, work is underway at Gibson Pond Park, which has been closed to the public since June. Because the dam on Gibson Pond was reclassified as “high-hazard” after the 2015 flood, the town of Lexington had to meet stricter requirements for rebuilding it, including topping the dam with a hard concrete structure.
The main concrete structure is already complete, said town spokeswoman Laurin Barnes, and crews are currently working to complete the spillway. By mid-spring, Lexington hopes to have a bridge over the dam completed and fishing piers installed. The old earthen dam will also need to be removed before water is released to refill the dam.
Lexington estimated the Gibson Pond project would cost the town $5.2 million, with $2.4 million coming from emergency FEMA funds made available after the October 2015 floods. Barnes said the town has applied to FEMA for additional funding to cover the remaining costs.
Once work on Old Mill Pond is complete, the town will build a one-mile, lighted public walking trail around the pond, which town officials plan to open in the fall, once work on the pond is complete.
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
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