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NEW MILFORD, Conn. – January 26, 2024 – FirstLight, the owner and operator of the Rocky River Pumped Hydro Storage Station, will initiate the drawdown season for Candlewood Lake, which includes Squantz Pond, on January 31, 2024 — with this season’s schedule dictated by unseasonably high flows and shifting weather patterns. The drawdown, executed in…
Read moreLake Zoar – Beginning on October 21, 2023, FirstLight will conduct a fall drawdown of Lake Zoar at the Stevenson Dam to conduct its maintenance and inspection activities. The normal summer operating range of the station is from 103’-100.5’, and the drawdown will target an elevation of 98.5’. The drawdown will lower lake levels to minimum…
Read moreMontague, MA – June 27, 2023 – Effective June 28, the U.S.G.S. S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center’s security gate in the Patch section of Turners Falls will be closed to vehicular access on evenings and weekends, with vehicular access being modified to 7:00 AM through 5:00 PM on weekdays. In addition, security will be…
Read moreOn Thursday, March 9th, FirstLight Power received notice of an observed small oil sheen below the Turners Falls Dam. We immediately deployed our team to inspect the area and establish and implement solutions to address the issue, at all times in coordination with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP). The team onsite identified two…
Read moreNEW MILFORD, Conn. – January 23rd, 2023 – FirstLight, the owner and operator of the Rocky River pumped hydroelectric station, began the drawdown of Candlewood Lake, which includes Squantz Pond, on Friday, January 20th, 2023. The drawdown, executed in consultation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,…
Read more2023 season kicked off with over 150 visitors, the viewing of 15 eagles, and lots of exciting activity for visitors to enjoy New Milford, CT – January 6th, 2023 – FirstLight Power, the owner and operator of the Shepaug Hydroelectric Power Station in Southbury, opened the Shepaug Bald Eagle Observatory for the winter on December…
Read moreNew Milford, CT – FirstLight, the owner and operator of five hydroelectric facilities along the Housatonic River, today announced the rollout of an enhanced Flood Notification System for the communities below, or downstream of, the Stevenson Dam in Monroe, Connecticut. The Lower Housatonic River occasionally experiences floods due to poor weather and the thawing of…
Read moreCandlewood Lake — FirstLight, the owner and operator of the Rocky River pumped hydroelectric station, will initiate the drawdown season for Candlewood Lake, which includes Squantz Pond, after December 1, 2022 as weather conditions allow. The drawdown, executed in consultation with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,…
Read moreLake Lillinonah – Beginning on October 26, 2022 FirstLight will conduct a drawdown of Lake Lillinonah at the Shepaug Dam to conduct its maintenance and inspection activities. The normal summer operating range of the station is from 200’-195.5’ and the drawdown will target an elevation of 191’. The drawdown will lower lake levels to minimum pond…
Read moreDear Candlewood Lake Community Leaders, For more than a decade, FirstLight has voluntarily restricted our operations at the Rocky River Pumped Hydro station, largely shutting the facility down each year from the spring to the fall. This lost opportunity came at a substantial cost to our company, but we did so anyway to prevent the…
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