'Save the Dam': Exeter, Brentwood residents protest calls to remove Pickpocket Dam

EXETER — A group of Exeter and Brentwood residents who want to save Pickpocket Dam held a protest Thursday afternoon outside the historic Town Hall.

Holding signs reading “Save the Dam” and “Restore the Public Process,” nearly a dozen residents called the town’s decision to pursue a grant to remove the dam as “hasty” and “premature.”

Catherine Edison, the organizer of the protest, said she was “disappointed,” “angry” and “blindsided” by the town’s decision. She said residents who live near the dam were not given ample notice and criticized town officials for their lack of transparency.

“I’m concerned that the Exeter River is under attack by local authorities,” she said. “There’s six miles of river above the dam that goes into Brentwood, and all that water will be lost.”

Exeter's Select Board applied for a grant in October through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to pay for the removal of the Pickpocket Dam, which was deemed “high-hazard” by the state’s Department of Environmental Services in 2018.

The reclassification was the outcome of a study that predicted “a dam breach during the 100-year flood event would result in flooding in at least one residential building,” according to a report.

While the Select Board applied for the grant, they have said no decision has been made on the future of the Pickpocket Dam.

Previous story: Exeter, Brentwood residents clash over Pickpocket Dam removal plan

Edison, who is also part of Friends of the Exeter River, said the town had “rushed” the process by applying for the grant before the feasibility study was completed.

The 400-plus page study and its preliminary results were presented to the town on Feb. 27 and finalized earlier this month. It recommended three alternatives to bring the dam into compliance with safety standards. One was to spend $3 million to raise the top of the dam to withstand a 100-year storm event. The second alternative, the most expensive at $3.6 million, proposed keeping the existing height but constructing a secondary spillway on the left side of the dam. Lastly, the cheapest option of the three, was to remove the dam at the cost of $1.5 million.

Moe Shore, a Friends of the Exeter River member, said the dam’s removal would take away recreational activities like kayaking and paddleboarding on the river. Additionally, he said, Pickpocket Dam doesn’t impose any real threat compared to the Great Dam, which was removed by the town in 2016.

“The Great Dam was in the center of town … the Pickpocket Dam is off to the corner of town,” he said. “The Great Dam was causing damage to significant buildings in the center of town whereas the Pickpocket Dam, there’s this designation as high-risk, but that’s once every 100 years.”

Holding up two neon pink signs that read “Save Pickpocket” and “Save the Habitat at Pickpocket Dam” was Jaye Garnett.

She expressed concerns the dam's removal would impact the safety of her house.

“I’m here because my house is right on the dam,” she said. “My house sits on a 50-foot cliff above the water, so once all that water is moved, then I fear that my house is going to start sliding down the hill. … I’m going to have new cracks on my foundation, and there’s nothing I can do.”

Both Edison and Garnett spoke out during the past two Select Board meetings, demanding the town withdraw or amend its NOAA grant application.

“The grant application contains several outright misstatements or exaggerations,” Edison said at the April 29 meeting.

Edison said the town’s grant application states the removal of the dam would “enhance” fish passage in the river. However, she claims the “state’s data indicates there have been no Alewife reaching Pickpocket Dam since the Great Dam was removed eight years ago.”

Select Board Chair Niko Papakonstantis addressed her contention at the May 13 board meeting after contacting VHB, the civil engineering firm that conducted the study.

“VHB disagrees that key information was missing from the decision process at the time the Select Board voted to apply for the NOAA Grant application,” he said. “Although the feasibility study was not yet complete, the primary conclusions and basis for the grant application have not changed. As discussed in depth in the grant application, improving Alewife fish passage is not the only reason that led to the town’s decision to submit a grant application to NOAA.”

Papakonstantis reiterated the board has not made a final decision on the future of the dam.

He said the town received feedback and opinions from residents from Exeter and Brentwood regarding the dam and the possible alternatives. All public comments (whether oral or written), he said, were compiled, and responded to in the final feasibility study dated April 30, 2024.

“In making a decision on which alternative is preferred, the Select Board will review all public comments and respective responses and take them into consideration,” he said.

Edison, at the protest, acknowledged there are “real concerns” with the Pickpocket Dam that need to be addressed. But, she said, other alternatives should be explored further, and removal should be the final option.

“I think we need more data on the issues surrounding removing the dam,” she said. “If I had all the information, understood all the facts around the data, and had enough time to review a 400-page report thoroughly … I would possibly accept it (the removal option). I don’t know that I would ever be fully happy about it … but I would be a lot happier.”

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Exeter residents rally to ‘Save Pickpocket Dam’