Southwick Commission Approves Tannery Road Culvert NOI With Conditions

SOUTHWICK — May 18, 2026 — Southwick Conservation Commission unanimously approves Tannery Road culvert NOI and amended Berkshire Avenue retaining wall plan. The board voted Monday to close the public hearing and approve Notice of Intent file 292-0438 for a DPW culvert replacement on Tannery Road after consultant Niamh Duffy of Tighe and Bond addressed three MassDEP comments, including an updated wetland delineation and a commitment to secure abutter easements. Separately, applicant John Conner received unanimous approval for a simplified retaining wall at 142 Berkshire Avenue, reducing the design from two stacked four-foot walls to a single four-foot wall with "less impact to the soil." The board also ratified an emergency certification to breach a beaver dam and eradicate beavers at Fred Jackson Road, citing near-road flood levels, and issued a negative determination on a Brayton Drive beach replenishment conditioned on the DPW first correcting a failed drainage swale. In the meeting's most consequential briefing, the conservation coordinator presented four NRCS engineering alternatives for Congamond Lakes flood control with cost estimates ranging from $3 million to $6 million for automated backflow gates up to $135 million to $220 million for full Canal Brook and Great Brook channel alteration — with a North Pond auxiliary outlet at $9 million to $15 million drawing the most favorable reaction from commissioners.