FARMINGTON — A public meeting is scheduled for Wednesday to discuss the results of the draft Walton’s Mill Dam feasibility study, Atlantic salmon passage and landscape designs for the adjacent town park.

The public is invited to the discussion planned from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 29, at the Farmington Community Center.

Hosted by the Atlantic Salmon Federation and town officials, the meeting includes two presentations and a question-and-answer period.

Joseph McLean, an engineer with the firm Wright-Pierce, will present initial findings from fieldwork conducted at the dam site this summer and fall.

The draft feasibility study includes historical information on the Walton’s Mill Pond Dam, structural conditions of the 16-foot tall and approximately 200-foot in length dam and findings related to the hydropower potential of the dam.

It also reports on possible fish passage construction to enhance migration of Atlantic salmon and Eastern brook trout in Temple Stream, along with removal options and the associated costs of each. Fishways are estimated to cost up to $750,000; a natural fishway, up to $1 million; dam removal, $400,000; and hydropower generation, over $2 million, according to the report.

The draft report is available by contacting John Burrows of the Atlantic Salmon Federation or the office of Farmington Town Manager Richard Davis.

Public comments on the draft report will be accepted until Dec. 29.

For the second presentation, David Maynes, a landscape architect with the firm Richardson & Associates, will present conceptual designs for improvements to the town’s Walton’s Mill Pond Park next to the dam off Route 43, also known as Temple Road.

abryant@sunmediagroup.net

Walton Mill Pond Dam in Farmington (File photo)