Pittsfield: Venice of the Berkshires
Posted by - Bruce Winn : Category - Conservation Commissions, Pittsfield City Government, Wahconah Park, WetlandsTo say Wahconah Park was flooded last week would be an understatement. People were actually kayaking and swimming in the parking lot. I guess even pumping the overflow into nearby wetlands (which the City of Pittsfield has done) couldn’t help. Of course, it wasn’t just Wahconah Park that was flooded. Pittsfield is seeing an unprecedented amount of flooding. Can anything be done? BEAT has been saying for some time now that the Pittsfield Conservation Commission does a poor job of protecting the city from flooding.
Wetlands serve many functions, but in terms of practicality, one of the most important is flood protection. Wetlands serve as holding tanks for water, releasing it at a slow, manageable rate into streams and groundwater. Allowing development in wetlands is asking for trouble. We asked. We got trouble.
BEAT has also been arguing to apathetic ears that Pittsfield has been installing undersized culverts at road crossings. We hate to say “we told you so,” but part of the flooding is a result of the city being unwilling to force engineers to do a little extra work or spend a little extra money. Apparently the city would rather force homeowners to go out and buy sump pumps. [Note added August 23, 2009. To see possible consequences of undersized culverts, look at my August 23 post.]
BEAT has also been making the point that proposed work in the floodplain should not be permitted by the Conservation Commission. But Pittsfield’s Conservation Agent has never seen a development project he didn’t like. Most Conservation Commissions make it difficult if not impossible to get permits for work in a floodplain. Not in Pittsfield though. If you have a bucket filled with water, and you then place a brick in the bucket, the water level rises and perhaps overflows the bucket. Building in the floodplain has a similar effect. Since the floodplain (the bucket) is where water normally goes in a storm, any building or other material (the brick) placed in the floodplain will cause the water level during a storm to rise higher than it otherwise would. A lot of people are seeing wet basements and flooded property for the first time. We know because we get the phone calls asking what can be done. [NOTE added August 29, 2009: Interestingly, in one of the very few issuances of an enforcement order by the Pittsfield Conservation Commission, a Pittsfield resident was recently ordered to stop adding fill to the floodplain around Lake Onota. I guess only the City is allowed to do this.]
The Pittsfield Conservation Commission has also been allowing the paving of large areas, such as parking lots, without insisting on adequate storm drains. Most paving material is impervious. This means that storm water can’t get through to the soil. Instead of being soaked up by the ground, it runs off immediately into storm drains if they are adequate, or into the streets if they’re not. If we keep paving without giving the water a place to go, the water will make its own choices about where to go.
In short, one of the primary functions of a Conservation Commission is to protect the community from flooding. We need a mayor who is willing to appoint a vigilant Conservation Commission that is willing to consider the interests of the people in the community and not just the pet projects they’re reviewing.