TROY – The city plans to remove the Mt. Ida Lake Dam on the Poesten Kill before the end of the year after engineers determined that it may only last a year, officials said Thursday.

“It’s structurally unsound,” said Chris Wheland, the city’s superintendent of public utilities who is handling the dam project.

The city does not yet know what will be done after the wooden dam, which is also known as the Poesten Kill Dam, is taken down bring the Poesten Kill back to its natural level. Wheland said additional study will be done to determine if a new dam should be built or the creek should remain at its natural level.

The Poesten Kill Gorge will not be affected by eliminating the dam, Wheland said. The same amount of water will continue to flow through the creek, the major difference is that Ida Lake, also known as Belden Pond, will no longer exist without the dam. The pond is only a few feet in depth, Wheland said.

The city will hold a public meeting to discuss the status of rehabilitation of the Mt. Ida Lake Dam. The meeting will be 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Troy Masonic Community Center at 39 Brunswick Road. Parking will be available on the community center’s eastern side with accessible parking located on its western side.

The dam started to give way in 2011 when Tropical Storm Irene struck, sending water cascading over the structure. City officials had to use timbers and sandbags to keep it from breaking.

The dam was built about 1850 for industrial use when factories relied on water power. It was rebuilt around 1998. It is located near the intersection of Route 2 and Pawling Avenue.

City engineers studying the current structure and its support walls determined that the dam would only last about 12 more months, Wheland said. The decision was made to remove it in order to avoid a situation where a storm with heavy amounts of rain might cause the dam to break.

The city is awaiting final approval from the state to take down the dam. Wheland said it’s considered an emergency situation. It will cost about $60,000 to take apart the dam.

The city has not yet determined the costs for replacing the dam if that is the course followed. A new dam could be made of steel, concrete or wood. Wheland said state guidelines for a new dam are much stricter now than 20 years ago.