Blumenthal Statement on Removal of Pond Lily Dam in New Haven

(Hartford, CT) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued the following statement today regarding the beginning of efforts to remove the Pond Lily Dam in New Haven. The more than $800,000 project, administered by Save the Sound, a bi-state program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment and funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Natural Resource Conservation Service, will reduce downstream flood risks and restore fish passage and habitat on 2.6 stream miles and 76 acres of Konold's Pond habitat for herring, eel, and shad.   

“As more frequent, more severe weather becomes the new normal, we must evaluate our infrastructure to ensure our communities are prepared to withstand and mitigate the devastating effects of flooding. Removal of the Pond Lily Dam will provide much needed and long awaited protection to Westville businesses and residents, who have been plagued by repeated flooding. I am proud to support these efforts by Connecticut Fund For the Environment, Save the Sound, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and I will continue to fight for federal funding for projects to ensure our state’s infrastructure and ecosystems are prepared for the weather we now know to expect."

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