Our blogger today is Dorie Stolley, Coordinator and Outreach
Manager for Watershed Action Alliance.
Yesterday, I went on a tour of river restoration projects in
southeastern Massachusetts sponsored by the Sheehan Family Foundation. Our tour
guide was Alison Bowden of The Nature Conservancy. Numerous representatives
of state agencies, watershed associations and other conservation organizations shared their
experiences and expertise. This blog presents some of what I learned about the
huge benefits of river restoration.
Rivers and their wildlife, such as fish, turtles, birds and
even bugs, are part of our great natural heritage here in southeastern
Massachusetts. Unfortunately, dams, pollution, and high water use have damaged
and diminished our once clean, free-flowing and lively watercourses. The good
news is that concerned people and organizations are joining together to restore
our rivers with projects that benefit water, wildlife and our local economies.
What follows are four examples from around the region of river restoration
projects in various stages of completion.
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| The site of the former Whittenton Street dam is well on its way to becoming a beautiful stream side park. |
For instance, in Taunton, the state of Massachusetts is
leading the country in protecting the environment, preventing flooding and
creating jobs at the same time. An obsolete dam on the Mill River called the
Whittenton Street dam made national headlines in 2005 when heavy rains led to
its near failure. Two thousand people were evacuated from their homes and schools,
offices and businesses were closed for two days. Conservation organizations,
such as Save the Bay – Narragansett Bay, teamed up to remove the dam this year and
restore the river to a natural channel and flow to prevent future catastrophe,
benefit wildlife, alleviate dam owner liability and create a beautiful natural
area that people can enjoy.
Another successful river restoration project is well on its way to
completion in America’s hometown: Plymouth. Here river herring are returning to
the same stream the Wampanoag and Pilgrims harvested them from for food and
fertilizer centuries ago. The 1.5 mile long Town Brook flows out of Billington
Sea, which encompasses 269 acres of spawning habitat. Town Brook, a small
stream, had six dams blocking fish passage and some held contaminated sediments
in their impounded waters. One dam was removed in 2002 and two were equipped
with new fishways.
That leaves three unsurpassable dams between the fish and their historic
spawning grounds. The Plymco dam will come down next year, if adequate funding
can be secured. The Off Billington Street dam, is slated for removal in the
next few months. And, the final dam is being studied to determine the best
solution for fish passage. Besides eliminating contaminated material from the
streambed, benefiting the environment and restoring a piece of our history, this
river restoration project is adding recreational trails along the now scenic
and accessible brook.
Similarly, the Jones River Watershed Association is reconnecting an important river to the ocean in the town of Kingston. The Jones River is 7.5
miles long from its headwaters at Silver Lake to its mouth in Kingston Bay. There
is a fish ladder at the lowest dam—the Elm Street dam—that allows some fish to
continue upstream. Removal of the second impediment, the Wapping Road dam, in
2011 and restoration of the stream bank and floodplain expanded the habitat
available to fish and transformed an unnaturally warm, sluggish and
sediment-filled pond into a lovely stream with riffles, wildflowers and the
musical sound of flowing water.
Watch the dam come down really fast in this speeded up video.
Watch the dam come down really fast in this speeded up video.
The final blockage is the Forge Pond dam at Silver Lake. Discussion with stakeholders on how to address the issue are underway.
A final example is that of the North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA). It is restoring Third Herring Brook in
Hanover and Norwell. Four dams block fish passage to ten miles of mainstream
and tributary habitat and 59 acres of pond habitat. The long process of planning and preparing for dam removal
and river restoration is underway for two of the dams, one of which is located
on the property of the South Shore YMCA.
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| Our tour leader, Alison Bowden, Freshwater Program Director for The Nature Conservancy. |
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| State Senator Marc Pacheco supports river restoration. He spoke with pride at the Whittenton Dam removal site of how Massachusetts leads the country in protecting the environment and creating jobs at the same time. |
For More Information
Massachusetts State Department of Ecological Restoration's report on the economic effects of ecological
restoration, including dam removal:
Auditor's report on the cost of dam maintenance and
dam safety issues:
Journal paper by Alison Bowden of The Nature
Conservancy on recovery of river herring:
A series of stories on river herring and other baitfish from WCAI Public Radio:
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