On Thursday evening, the Conservation Commission issued an emergency authorization to conduct the work to address a problem that pushed its way near the top of the town's priority list in December and intensified with this week's rains.
"We went down today, and it was decidedly worse than it was yesterday," town conservation agent Andrew Groff told the commissioners.
Groff said there is currently 90 linear feet of erosion along that stretch of the river, and the land is being taken away "at a precipitous rate."
Arthur and Wendy Campbell, whose North Street property has been eroding into the river since 2019, called the Williamstown Police when a Christmas Eve storm last December took away a large chunk of the bank and threatened to uncover one of the sewer lines that runs through their property.