WILTON — When a building requires about 8,000 gallons of oil a year for heat, the owner may be ready to explore other options.
That’s what Michael Wells, representing the Bass-Wilson building for owner Randy Cousineau, told selectmen Tuesday.
There’s no definite plan. Research is still under way, but Wells wanted to let selectmen know what he was working on, he said.
He’s looking into Cousineau’s water rights to use the rustling waters of Wilson Stream as a source to make electricity to heat the building.
Wells plans to research the potential for not only hydropower but solar thermal and geothermal options, he told the board. The research includes whether the capital costs for equipment to develop a “micro-hydro plant” is even feasible.
“There’s a lot of potential,” for kilowatt production, he said. “The water won’t be consumed just diverted.”
The dam and canal off Wilson Lake dates way back to at least the 1880s, when water power was used for industries such as a grist mill, Clayton Putnam, superintendent of the town’s waste and water departments, said. he helped Wells with some research.
Water initially ran under the mill to a large waterwheel to power equipment in a building that was eventually used as a woolen mill and then shoe shop.
After changing the power source, a cement retaining wall was erected to keep the water from flowing under the building, Putnam said. Nothing was done inside, leaving an option to rehabilitate what’s there or basically adding a high-speed waterwheel or turbine to generate electricity. A hole would be drilled through the cement to allow water to flow back in and then out under the Calzolaio Pasta Co. restaurant.
The town owns the dam and parts of the streambed, known locally as the “dugway,” and the sewer department holds a vested interest in water levels due to dissolution ratios needed for discharge of treated water in the stream further east of the site.
The Department of Environmental Protection would probably want to see lake water levels and the amount of water going over the dam kept stable, he said.
Part of Wells’ research includes looking into licensing and permits.
That may be a difficult process requiring federal approval because of the production of electricity, Selectman Tom Saviello said.
He suggested that if this develops, the town should look into purchasing any excess electricity.
abryant@sunjournal.com
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