GREENFIELD — Running in his excitement to launch himself once more off the ledge of the dam and into the Green River under the Eunice Williams Covered Bridge, a young boy barely notices that he’s stepped on an old Styrofoam plate, cracking it with a gentle pop.
Nearby, the detritus of someone’s lunch — a Doritos bag, a McDonald’s French fries box, crushed Coors Light and Sprite cans — can be seen tucked in between a few of the large rocks along the banks of the river. Farther down the river from the popular summer swimming spot, an empty six pack of Corona Light bottles lie in their own alcove.
The dam itself was also recently vandalized with graffiti, which has since been painted over in gray, and Greenfield police records detail a June 26 incident where officers found the area packed with 35 cars and between 75 to 100 people around 3:30 p.m. Seven of the cars had squeezed between two large boulders, and parked on the lawn next to the river on the upper bank off of the west side of Eunice Williams Drive.
These are the scenes that have prompted some local residents, concerned about the garbage and vandalism — even the safety of that boy, who now splashes gleefully in the water with his family — to call and email Mayor William Martin’s office, asking for something to be done.
Now, Martin says he’ll be taking action.
“I have had calls and emails about the unsafe activities at the Pumping Station covered bridge,” Martin said. “Primarily, (they) focused on children jumping off the dam, picnicking above the dam, parking near the water, littering and defacing property. Mostly, (from) neighborhood residents, concerned with the historical value and hard work to bring this bridge and roadway back to vehicular use, have informed city departments of this situation and requested a response.”
Martin said he and Greenfield Police Chief Robert Haigh have agreed to increase both day and night patrols in the area, and the Department of Public Works plans to put up more signs warning of risks and fines for swimming above the dam.
Martin noted that the water held in the reservoir above the dam eventually becomes part of the town’s drinking water supply.
Paul Zilinski, the water facilities operation supervisor at the town Water Department, said the trash below the dam doesn’t pose much risk of contamination to the drinking water because it’s past the intake pipe at the top, and the water that does go into the pipe is filtered and sanitized before it’s introduced to the town’s supply.
Still, Zilinski said, swimming above the dam poses a risk of being drawn into the pipe — which creates an undercurrent — especially for children. There’s a filter on the pipe itself, he said, but there are some gaps.
“That would just be a really bad situation,” he said.
A sign on a fence at the top of the dam — posted just above the spot where a Recorder reporter observed a group of young people swimming Thursday evening — notes the risks, but Martin said he’s ordered the Department of Public Works to post more to warn of those dangers and the fines that come along with ignoring them.
Zilinski said the Water Department has experimented with putting more fencing up near the dam and bridge to keep people off, but icy conditions in the water have destroyed it in the past.
The covered bridge itself has been re-opened to vehicular and foot traffic since 2014 after being closed for extensive repair since 2002.
In 2011, Tropical Storm Irene severely damaged the bridge’s abutments and the dam, causing it to be closed to pedestrians.
You can reach Tom Relihan at: 413-772-0261, ext 264
or: trelihan@recorder.com
On Twitter: @RecorderTom