ADAMS -- The section of flood-control chutes near Mill Street should be clear in roughly a month.
An ongoing project to dredge a section of the Hoosic River and Tophet Brook chutes began recently and was needed for some time, as anyone who's seen various birds roosting on the sediment deposits may have gathered.
The purpose of the job is to put the town into compliance with federal regulations concerning flood preparedness.
"The Army Corps of Engineers designed and built [the chute] to handle the amount of water that a one-hundred or five-hundred-year flood could bring," Selectmen's Chair Arthur Harrington said. "If it's filled with debris, it no longer has the capacity to carry that much water."
Because many regulations are involved with the procedure, a special company was contracted to do the work -- RC & D Inc., of Rhode Island. The company bid the project at $295,000 and was awarded the work by the town in October.
The debris is being removed and disposed of locally. At a recent Selectmen's meeting, a resident suggested another use for the debris: fill for the upcoming Ashuwillticook Rail Trail extension project.
Town Administrator Jonathan Butler said the town had already considered such a use, and it wasn't going to be happening.
"[The state Department of Environmental Protection] doesn't let us do anything creative like that," Butler said.
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