Storm-damaged Stony Brook mill pond will be rebuilt, Brookhaven officials say
Gloria Rocchio, president of the Ward Melville Heritage Organization, in front of the now drained Mill Pond in Stony Brook. Credit: Elizabeth Sagarin
Brookhaven has announced plans to rebuild a Stony Brook mill pond that went dry in a mid-August storm — rejecting calls from some environmental advocates to let the pond return to its natural state.
The centuries-old, human-made pond, which was drained of its water when a dam collapsed in the Aug. 18-19 storm, will be rebuilt as part of an estimated $10 million effort to repair damage in the North Shore hamlet, town officials said.
Brookhaven officials decided to rebuild the dam and restore the mill pond after weighing alternatives such as letting the pond naturally revert to a river, Councilman Jonathan Kornreich said.
Kornreich, a Democrat, said the pond — part of the 11-acre T. Bayles Minuse Mill Pond Park — is a popular spot for sightseers and plays an integral role in Stony Brook's history and economy, adding that residents overwhelmingly supported restoration efforts.
The pond and the hamlet's 273-year-old grist mill are owned by the nonprofit Ward Melville Heritage Organization.
“There are some people who have made pretty good arguments, by looking at it strictly from an environmental standpoint, that there are environmental benefits to letting it flow," Kornreich said. “They’re not wrong, but I think they’re looking at it narrowly. In government we have to look at the big picture.”
Some ecologists argue tens of thousands of small dams placed on 3 million miles of rivers around the country block the free flow of water to the oceans, degrading natural habitats and pushing native species into decline. Efforts to remove dams have accelerated since the 1990s.
A 2022 report by American Rivers, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that supports dam removal, said most dams "no longer serve their original purpose" and are "a leading reason for the alarming loss of freshwater biodiversity."
Louise Harrison, Long Island natural areas manager for New Haven, Connecticut, nonprofit Save the Sound, said the group opposes pond restoration efforts because they disrupt the natural ecology of former rivers that were converted hundreds of years ago into ponds supporting commercial grist mills.
"We think allowing the creek to flow unimpeded will add resiliency and water quality benefits for [the] coastline and Long Island Sound," she said in an email.
The storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of rain across northern Suffolk County, destroying another dam in Smithtown, Harbor Road in Stony Brook and damaging the basement of the Smithtown Library's main branch.
Brookhaven officials said last week repair efforts across the town are expected to total $25 million, including in Rocky Point, where homeowners were temporarily driven from their homes by rising floodwater.
Recovery efforts received a boost Monday when President Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration that is expected to make federal funds available to repair infrastructure damage.
In Stony Brook, the pond drained in the early morning of Aug. 19 when a dam at the base of Harbor Road broke, collapsing the road and releasing thousands of gallons of water from the pond into Stony Brook Harbor, officials said.
The road collapse left a 120-foot gap that has disrupted travel between downtown Stony Brook and the Village of Head of the Harbor in Smithtown, officials said. A temporary road opened earlier this month for Head of the Harbor residents along Mill Creek Road left stranded by the storm.
John Turner and Enrico Nardone of Islip nonprofit Seatuck Environmental Association also had called on officials to reconsider plans to rebuild dams and ponds destroyed by the August storm, including in Stony Brook and Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown.
But Turner, a Seatuck conservation policy advocate, said talks with Stony Brook residents and community leaders changed his mind.
Turner, who also works as a land management specialist for the Brookhaven Town attorney's office, said the Stony Brook pond “probably should be treated differently” from the Blydenburgh pond, known as Stump Pond.
“At the [Stony Brook] mill pond, the thinking is it’s a little different [than Blydenburgh] in that it's a local community asset," he told Newsday. "Anybody who has lived there has fed ducks in the pond.”
He added the new dam should be several feet lower than the one damaged in August, which rose about 15 to 18 feet, and a fish ladder should be built to make it easier for fish to migrate to the harbor.
Michael Martino, spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, said county officials remain committed to plans to rebuild the Blydenburgh pond.
Gloria Rocchio, Ward Melville Heritage Organization president, said she was pleased the Stony Brook mill pond will be restored.
The mill came out of the storm relatively unscathed, but operating the mill's wheel requires the undulating movement of waves generated by the pond, she said. Without the pond, staff must periodically operate the wheel by hand to churn through muck that accumulates in the pit that formed when the pond emptied, she said.
Rocchio said she wants to “have this precious treasure work again like before," adding the mill "is the heart of Stony Brook.”
The town board on Thursday voted 7-0 to borrow up to $1.4 million to address damage to the dam, including $900,000 for engineering work needed for permanent repairs and $500,000 for temporary fixes.
Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said the latter would fund “emergency stabilization” of the breach that opened when the dam was washed away. Heavy stones will be placed on either side of the breach to slow erosion that has occurred since the August storm, he said.
Losquadro said the new dam, when it is built, likely will include modern construction techniques that didn't exist the last time the Stony Brook dam was replaced in 1910.
The new barrier would include an upper spillway to allow water to drain when it rises too high, Losquadro said. A safety valve at the bottom of the dam would allow staff to manually adjust the water flow for repairs or in anticipation of severe storms, he added.
“There are going to be more robust and much better safety features,” he said.
Brookhaven has announced plans to rebuild a Stony Brook mill pond that went dry in a mid-August storm — rejecting calls from some environmental advocates to let the pond return to its natural state.
The centuries-old, human-made pond, which was drained of its water when a dam collapsed in the Aug. 18-19 storm, will be rebuilt as part of an estimated $10 million effort to repair damage in the North Shore hamlet, town officials said.
Brookhaven officials decided to rebuild the dam and restore the mill pond after weighing alternatives such as letting the pond naturally revert to a river, Councilman Jonathan Kornreich said.
Kornreich, a Democrat, said the pond — part of the 11-acre T. Bayles Minuse Mill Pond Park — is a popular spot for sightseers and plays an integral role in Stony Brook's history and economy, adding that residents overwhelmingly supported restoration efforts.
WHAT TO KNOW
- Brookhaven officials announced they plan to rebuild a Stony Brook pond that was drained of water when a dam broke in an August storm.
- Town officials rejected calls to let the pond revert to its natural state as a river.
- The $10 million project is among $25 million worth of damage caused by the Aug. 18-19 storm, which also washed out a Stony Brook bridge and drove Rocky Point residents from their homes.
The pond and the hamlet's 273-year-old grist mill are owned by the nonprofit Ward Melville Heritage Organization.
“There are some people who have made pretty good arguments, by looking at it strictly from an environmental standpoint, that there are environmental benefits to letting it flow," Kornreich said. “They’re not wrong, but I think they’re looking at it narrowly. In government we have to look at the big picture.”
Some ecologists argue tens of thousands of small dams placed on 3 million miles of rivers around the country block the free flow of water to the oceans, degrading natural habitats and pushing native species into decline. Efforts to remove dams have accelerated since the 1990s.
A 2022 report by American Rivers, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that supports dam removal, said most dams "no longer serve their original purpose" and are "a leading reason for the alarming loss of freshwater biodiversity."
Louise Harrison, Long Island natural areas manager for New Haven, Connecticut, nonprofit Save the Sound, said the group opposes pond restoration efforts because they disrupt the natural ecology of former rivers that were converted hundreds of years ago into ponds supporting commercial grist mills.
"We think allowing the creek to flow unimpeded will add resiliency and water quality benefits for [the] coastline and Long Island Sound," she said in an email.
The storm dumped 6 to 10 inches of rain across northern Suffolk County, destroying another dam in Smithtown, Harbor Road in Stony Brook and damaging the basement of the Smithtown Library's main branch.
Brookhaven officials said last week repair efforts across the town are expected to total $25 million, including in Rocky Point, where homeowners were temporarily driven from their homes by rising floodwater.
Recovery efforts received a boost Monday when President Joe Biden signed a major disaster declaration that is expected to make federal funds available to repair infrastructure damage.
In Stony Brook, the pond drained in the early morning of Aug. 19 when a dam at the base of Harbor Road broke, collapsing the road and releasing thousands of gallons of water from the pond into Stony Brook Harbor, officials said.
The road collapse left a 120-foot gap that has disrupted travel between downtown Stony Brook and the Village of Head of the Harbor in Smithtown, officials said. A temporary road opened earlier this month for Head of the Harbor residents along Mill Creek Road left stranded by the storm.
John Turner and Enrico Nardone of Islip nonprofit Seatuck Environmental Association also had called on officials to reconsider plans to rebuild dams and ponds destroyed by the August storm, including in Stony Brook and Blydenburgh County Park in Smithtown.
But Turner, a Seatuck conservation policy advocate, said talks with Stony Brook residents and community leaders changed his mind.
Turner, who also works as a land management specialist for the Brookhaven Town attorney's office, said the Stony Brook pond “probably should be treated differently” from the Blydenburgh pond, known as Stump Pond.
“At the [Stony Brook] mill pond, the thinking is it’s a little different [than Blydenburgh] in that it's a local community asset," he told Newsday. "Anybody who has lived there has fed ducks in the pond.”
He added the new dam should be several feet lower than the one damaged in August, which rose about 15 to 18 feet, and a fish ladder should be built to make it easier for fish to migrate to the harbor.
Michael Martino, spokesman for Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine, said county officials remain committed to plans to rebuild the Blydenburgh pond.
Gloria Rocchio, Ward Melville Heritage Organization president, said she was pleased the Stony Brook mill pond will be restored.
The mill came out of the storm relatively unscathed, but operating the mill's wheel requires the undulating movement of waves generated by the pond, she said. Without the pond, staff must periodically operate the wheel by hand to churn through muck that accumulates in the pit that formed when the pond emptied, she said.
Rocchio said she wants to “have this precious treasure work again like before," adding the mill "is the heart of Stony Brook.”
The town board on Thursday voted 7-0 to borrow up to $1.4 million to address damage to the dam, including $900,000 for engineering work needed for permanent repairs and $500,000 for temporary fixes.
Highway Superintendent Dan Losquadro said the latter would fund “emergency stabilization” of the breach that opened when the dam was washed away. Heavy stones will be placed on either side of the breach to slow erosion that has occurred since the August storm, he said.
Losquadro said the new dam, when it is built, likely will include modern construction techniques that didn't exist the last time the Stony Brook dam was replaced in 1910.
The new barrier would include an upper spillway to allow water to drain when it rises too high, Losquadro said. A safety valve at the bottom of the dam would allow staff to manually adjust the water flow for repairs or in anticipation of severe storms, he added.
“There are going to be more robust and much better safety features,” he said.
Carl MacGowan is a Long Island native who covers Brookhaven Town after having previously covered Smithtown, Suffolk County courts and numerous spot news and feature stories over his 20-plus year career at Newsday.
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