The Hydraulic Canal....Again

I dont know that he has stopped. The spineless ones are just passing the buck and doesnt care since it isnt in there back yard.As in Mr.Allen,have to agree with Vet,another one that dont know his butt from a hole in the ground.Got the postion cos he has buddies..

The city could have filled in the canal with the debris from all the buildings they've torn down. The rubble from the old Middletown Hospital and all the schools they tore down would have provided a lot of fill-in. Why did Gary Barge stop fighting? We need him here in Ward 1. Do you think Mr. Allen even knows where this ward is located?

[QUOTE=TonyB]Mr Presta,

Frankly, I think some local people who actually know better try to foster that belief, perhaps because they harbor the hope that they will be commisssioned to "restore" a portion of the hydraulic canal to inaccurately represent it with canal boats, and possibly a set of locks, without regards to historic accuracy. I have no idea how they think this could possibly ever get past the keen eye for detail of our Historic Commission. 

viper771 wrote: Thanks for the info Mike. I was thinking they were one in the same.

You are welcome.  Many people are under that same impression.

Thanks for the info Mike. I was thinking they were one in the same.

Hermes - you're asking where's the Federal EPA? They got defunded.

Thanks for the info vet! I think I read somewhere that the water once was used for the paper mill and still flowed though the mill until the dam broke. Can there be a way to fill it in? I don't know if that would really help though.  Something should have been done a long time ago, there is no doubt about that. I can see that there will more many more problems appearing in the near future that the city won't be able to ignore.

viper771 wrote: I had no idea a part of the old canal was still around. Sorry if I sound ignorant but why is the water not flowing? Is the area in question a part of the canal that wasn't filled in? I just knew that they filled in the canal and that is where Verity is now..but I didn't know other parts were still around. I still haven't seen all of Middletown yet and I have lived here for a couple yrs now. I am still trying to get around to explore.

viper, the portion of the hydraulic canal that is in question and presents a nuisance runs past Wilbraham Rd. and past the entryway to Smith Park on down toward the former site of Sorg Paper.

Prior to the dam breaking in 1993, water flow was maintained in the canal and reduced stagnation creating mosquito breeding and health issues. Now that the dam has broken (and the state won't fix it), there is no water flow and it has become a cesspool. Studies on fixatives included installing pumps to create water flow, installing aerators to lessen stagnation.....all, too expensive for the city to implement. So, it sits there, occasionally mentioned by past and current council members and alot of money spent for "studies" with no solution in sight. Residents along Wilbraham, including Gary Barge, have complained, taken water samples, reported it to the EPA, etc. to no avail. It sits as an eyesore, a health hazard and as a monument to another city responsibility that has been ignored for many years.....like the roads, sewers, the downtown, the housing, busineses leaving town and many other issues that belong in the "turn their back, look the other way" file.

It's never been determined that the city own's the canal and who is utimately responsible for it. 

Regarding the Aeronca (Magellan) discharge:

What year did the canal stop operating and we still have it all these decades later ?!!

 

Stupid is as stupid does.