WOOLWICH TWP. – A section of Mill Road, between Asbury Station Road and Tomlin Station Road, was closed after inspections showed a possible instability in the dam at Warrington Mill Pond, which runs under Mill Road.
According to Woolwich Township Clerk Jane DiBella, an inspection was done by the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection on Sept. 1 on the dam. The inspection was called for when it was noticed that the water level was lowering at the dam.
“The spillway seems to be undermined resulting in flow under the structure,” stated DiBella. “Since the extent of undermining is unknown and given the possibility the erosion will progress, the road was closed from both Woolwich and East Greenwich by [the] New Jersey bridge inspector and New Jersey dam safety.”
DiBella stated that a detailed site inspection must be performed by the state and a report sent within 30 days which will include both temporary and long-term recommendations on the dam.
According to a report at https://data.thespectrum.com/dam/new-jersey/gloucester-county/warrington-mill-dam/nj00114/, the dam was last inspected on Dec. 13, 2004, and was listed in Poor Condition with a Low Hazard Potential Classification, which means that no probable loss of human life and low economic and/or environmental losses would be expected with the dam failure. Losses are principally limited to the owner’s property.
The roadway over top of the dam is a narrow two lane black topped roadway with two sharp turns with limited visibility. A similar road/dam, Hendrickson Mill Bridge, to the south on the Mill Road, was closed in 2011 after storm damage from Hurricane Irene. It was reconstructed into a straightened wider two lane roadway.
Oliphant Mill Road in Woolwich Township has been closed due to the dam washout at the Porches Mill Pond Dam since August 2020 when it was washed out during to a torrential rainstorm. This is a privately owned dam.
4 Responses
Well the private lakes owned by private individuals should not be fixed or remedial action taken using tax payers money if those lakes are private and no public access and in the future if tax payers money is used then the lake should be open to the public
Should the dam be eliminated so the road can be rebuilt if the private owner of the dam doesn’t want to pay for the dam repair?
I’m an active fishermen and I’ve had my eye on Warrington Millpond for several years. I was discouraged from my attempt to fish this lake due to what I was told that the lake was owned by the horse farm on its banks and the owners were lets say, somewhat cranky at the idea of someone quietly fishing the banks. I get it that the land is private and I can’t trespass and out of respect as a land owner myself I won’t.
In my opinion as a tax payer, the lake owner should be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the waterway including its barriers. If the owners refuse to maintain the waterway and the local government has to step in, the waterway should be public domain with unrestricted access to the lake and its benefits.
I have never been to porches mill pond and it seems really cool and a good fishing spot so I would really love if they fixed it and put more fish in like catfish,large mouth bass and blue gill so whoever owners this pond like the Mayer please fix. Thank you