Fuss & O’Neill provided dam safety and flood control engineering services to assist the City of Gardner address deficiencies to the Gardner Local Flood Protection Project. Wayside Pond Dam, a component of this U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flood control project, is in poor condition. Fuss O’Neill was retained to evaluate the current condition of the dam, its hydrologic and hydraulic function in the overall flood control system, and to provide alternatives to address the safety deficiencies.

To understand the original design basis for Wayside Pond Dam, we performed extensive research. We determined that the dam was not designed to provide flood storage, but was strengthened to resist a repeat failure and resultant downstream flood damage.

As part of this project, Fuss & O’Neill coordinated a pre-engineering investigation meeting with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the DCR to review the current condition of the dam, as well as the administrative and regulatory steps involved in the potential removal of the dam.