Dam Demolition Project In Avon Topic Of DEEP Hearing Tuesday

AVON, CT — Plans to take down an old Farmington River dam in Avon that once served a prominent Canton manufacturer is the topic of a state public hearing on Tuesday, July 2.

The meeting will be at 6 p.m. in the Community Room at the Avon Public Library, 281 Country Club Road, Avon. It will also be live-streamed on Nutmeg Television.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will host a public informational meeting about Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and potential mitigation measures for the proposed removal of the Collins Co. Lower Dam.

This event is not sponsored by the Avon Library.

The Collins Co. Lower Dam was built in 1910 to help power the Collins Co. factory in Canton, which was located about a mile upstream.

Collins, which manufactured sharp tools, especially axes, closed in the late 1960s, leaving behind a legacy of local history that remains with the "Collinsville" name of the Canton village.

As for the lower dam, it is located in Avon near Route 179 and across from the Burlington town line on the opposite side of the river.

The main dam in Canton has, since 2019, been retrofitted to become a small, hydroelectric power station, but in 2011 retrofitting the lower dam was not deemed to be economically feasible, according to national hydroelectric engineering firm Princeton Hydro.

Princeton Hydro, which has offices in Connecticut and other states, was the design firm behind the upper dam's retrofitting.

When the dam is removed, it is expected to further assist migratory fish in the Farmington River, who benefit from a fishway at the primary dam site in Canton.

"The goals of this project are to eliminate a barrier to migratory fish; eliminate an obsolete dam; remove a public safety risk; re-create a free-flowing, ecologically productive, and natural river channel; and create stable and safe public access," wrote Princeton Hydro in a report.

"Also as noted above, this dam removal is imperative to enable fish passage at the fishway under construction at the Collinsville Dam, approximately one mile upstream."

Tuesday's meeting will provide further information about the process and what residents can expect.

For more information on the Collins Co. Dam project and Princeton Hydro, click on this link.