KILLINGLY, Conn. – Six years ago, Justen and Kellie Fisher bought a property in need of attention on Old Killingly Pond, which straddles the border of Connecticut and Rhode Island, and began rebuilding their dream house on the Connecticut side of the pond. About four months ago, the pond began to disappear on them.

“It’s dropped at least 12 feet,” Justen Fisher said. “It’s bad. It looks extremely different. You can probably assume the cause of concern for us. It’s literally our back yard.”

Although the Fishers didn’t know it at the time, the reason their pond was disappearing was because the dam that forms it began showing signs it could fail. That triggered an emergency action that opened the lower outlet of the dam to bring the water level down and relieve the pressure on the dam.

It all began last September, when the private owners of the dam — Wright Investors’ Service Holdings, Inc., or WISH, based in Mt. Kisco, New York — told the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) it had received complaints about low water levels. The dam is entirely in Connecticut and regulated by DEEP.

DEEP investigated and found significant seepage from the dam, with a clear flow. As a result, WISH began monitoring the seepage for a change in seep rate or clarity. The next month, the clear flow turned cloudy with sediments — a worrying sign the earthen dam could be eroding from the inside, a process known as “piping.” 

“Their engineer definitely noted an emergency situation that warranted immediate action,” said Graham Stevens, DEEP bureau chief of water protection and land reuse.

That led to the lower outlet being opened and the water level in Old Killingly Pond dropping dramatically.

Charles Lee, assistant director of dam safety programs for DEEP, said the water level has dropped eight to 10 feet. The average depth of the pond is only about 11 feet, according to Lee, with the deepest parts of the pond reaching about 20 feet. The dam in question is 247 feet long and 12 feet high.

On Feb. 6, DEEP sent WISH a letter giving them 30 days to decide whether they were going to fix the dam and restore Old Killingly Pond to its previous levels, or permanently maintain the drawdown level of water in the pond.  The letter noted that as of Nov. 6, when the lower outlet was opened, the dam was no longer considered unsafe.

If WISH decides not to fix the dam but maintain the lower water level,  they will have to apply for a new permit. Stevens said if that comes to pass, DEEP will evaluate the impact of the lower water level on “natural systems” and “anyone else’s use or enjoyment” of Old Killingly Pond.

“We would be seeking public comment on any potential permitting decision,” he said.

The Old Killingly Pond dam is one of five dams and reservoirs built by the Chestnut Hill Water Company about 200 years ago to generate power for sawmills and textile mills along Whetstone Brook — now owned by WISH, through a long, convoluted process of corporate takeovers.

WISH is essentially a shell company created by Wright Investors’ Service, Inc. to offload ownership of the dams. WISH has tried in turn to give the dams both to the state and to the town of Killingly.

Stevens said WISH approached the state in 2011, offering to donate the five dams and associated land rights, but after evaluating the properties the state turned the offer down.

“These are legacy industrial dams that require periodic inspection and repair,” Stevens said. “These infrastructure projects that come from inspection can be quite expensive. The state is not in a position to take on liability from companies that haven’t planned appropriately for the maintenance of their infrastructure.”

Connecticut has more dams per river mile than any other state — about 4,500 dams, according to Stevens — 90% of which are privately owned.

In October 2020, Harold Kahn, acting chief financial officer of WISH, made a “very attractive proposition” — Kahn’s words — to the Killingly Planning and Zoning Commission, offering to donate the five dams to the town, “no strings attached,” according to the minutes of the meeting.

While saying WISH and its predecessors had been “excellent stewards” of the dams for 200 years, Kahn noted there were no development opportunities or profit motive associated with the dams.

“Mr. Kahn explained that they want these properties to be with an owner who is genuinely concerned about maintaining them and who believes that they have the appropriate civic, social and environmental value to them,” the minutes state. “WISH believes that the Town of Killingly is in the best position to be the owner.”

The town of Killingly disagreed, and like the state, turned the offer down. 

Justen Fisher, the homeowner watching Old Killingly Pond disappear from his front door, is clear on what he believes should happen next to WISH.

“I would love to see the state of Connecticut say, ‘You have the money, stop crying poverty and fix the dam,’” Fisher said.