New Small Dam Projects in the Pipeline

By Ian Cooke, Executive Director of the Neponset River Watershed Association

Originally posted on the NepRWA blog on March 3, 2014

After some initial setbacks, our small dams program has regrouped and is now targeting three dams on Pine Tree Brook in Milton. We've also been working on a list of "micro" dams that can be remediated using volunteer crews.

Last spring, the Neponset Watershed Association launched a new “Small Dams Program” with the help of more than 100 local donors, a challenge grant and support from Patagonia and the NLT Foundation. The goal is to begin addressing more than 100 obsolete dams on the Neponset and its tributaries, which collectively take a heavy toll on the health of the river and the fish and wildlife that depend on it.

Harland Street flood control dam.

However, just a few months after launching the effort, we were sent back to the drawing board when the two pilot

Harland Street flood control dam.

sites we had selected ran into trouble with landowners who were initially supportive but were not ready to move forward in the end.

We have spent the last several months regrouping, and I’m pleased to report that we seem to be back on track with several new possibilities in the pipeline. During the fall we revisited the comprehensive survey of dams across the watershed that we had completed with the help of volunteers a number of years ago, filled in some of the missing pieces, and went through an exercise to prioritize potential restoration sites.

The result is a new focus on three small dams along Pine Tree Brook in Milton. The three dams lie on land owned by the Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and/or the Town of Milton between Canton Avenue and Unquity Road, near the Ulin Rink. Two are small dams with no modern purpose, and no aesthetic or other public use. The third is the Harland Street flood control dam, which is one of only two flood control dams in the Watershed, but it appears that a minor modification could restore fish passage without impacting flood control operations.

The upper reaches of Pine Tree Brook are believed to support a wild trout population, and restoration at these three sites could potentially be a benefit to this iconic and relatively rare species. Over the longer term, modifications at the Pope’s Pond Dam further downstream could potentially open all of Pine Tree Brook to migratory herring and shad spawning, once fish passage is restored at the Baker Dam. However, work at Pope’s Pond would be considerably more complex and is not part of the immediate project.  dams along Pine Tree Brook. Click image to enlarge

Map of dams along Pine Tree Brook.

Following site visits with staff from DCR and the Milton DPW, a decision was made to submit these three sites to be considered as “priority projects” with the Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) within the Mass. Department of Fish and Game. Priority project status would officially put these dams on DER’s workplan, opening the way for technical assistance and potentially for additional funding down the road. In the meantime, we are getting ready for a site visit with a panel of volunteer experts representing various technical disciplines from engineering to biology, drawn from the ranks of academia and other interested professionals who live in the Watershed.

We are also working on pulling together a short list of “micro-dams.” These are mostly little more than a few rocks piled in a stream that could easily be disassembled by a small group of volunteers in an afternoon. Even though there isn’t much to these mini structures, they still have a significant impact on stream habitat and aquatic wildlife by fragmenting stream habitats, and trapping fish in small, isolated stream reaches. After doing some permitting work on these mini structures (yes, even things this small still need permits!) we hope to organize some volunteer dam removal parties.

Special thanks to Margaret Kearns of Instar Ecology who has been helping to lead our small dam program over the last few months.

For more information, contact Ian Cooke at cooke@neponset.org.

To read the original post, click here.

Next Stop, the Jones River watershed!

Our Blogger today is Shalen Lowell

Elm Street Dam, Kingston MA

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Jones River Watershed Association (JRWA) and the unique and beautiful Jones River watershed. This watershed is relatively small, and is self-contained in the town of Kingston. It begins upstream at Silver Lake and flows down and out to Kingston Bay. Although this watershed occupies a relatively small geographic area, it contains a multitude of unique ecological features such as coastal areas, cranberry bogs, and a glacial lake.

Led by JRWA intern Amy Meloski, we first stopped at Kingston Bay, to which the Jones River flows, as it winds through the watershed from Silver Lake. We journeyed upstream from the bay to Mulliken’s Landing, a canoe launch leading out to the Jones that was overgrown and out of care. The landing’s path was shrouded with overgrown bushes and vandalized benches. Should someone take up this project, the Landing would be a great recreational attraction for this downstream section of the watershed.

On our tour upstream, we encountered a road block at the Elm Street dam: the bridge there is under construction. There we saw the fish ladder which enables herring to traverse the dam and with which the JRWA observes herring counts. Though many herring pass along the river in this manner, smelt and shad are unable to get through. Like many of us, the JRWA is concerned with herring runs, which is an indicator of overall watershed health. Because herring counts are so crucial at the Elm St. dam, during April and May, the JRWA allows volunteers to assist with the herring counts, a great way to engage the public, to take ownership, and to get people involved in their local environment.

A refreshing walk along a wooded path led us to several more fish ladders which led up to a pond on higher ground. The fish ladders pass from the pond, down to the Jones River, bridging an earthen dam.

The last spot I saw was the glacial Silver Lake (see right). The lake provides drinking water for the town of Brockton and its water is pumped out to Brockton every day. This restricts river flow from the lake, and in times of low-flow or draught, can be cut off from the flow of the Jones almost entirely.

The JRWA’s primary concern is removing dams in the Jones River watershed, and eventually getting the fish back to Silver Lake. Many earthen dams in the area are coming to the end of their lives and must be disposed of instead of repaired. Dams are more expensive in the long run due to the initial costs of construction but also lifetime maintenance. Here I learned that a river is better left to flow naturally rather than be subjected to unneeded construction.

The JRWA dismantled one such dam not long ago: the Wapping Road dam which is one of the inactive, concrete dams abandoned after industrial development.

Possibly the JRWA’s most important investment is in environmental education. Not only does the association visit schools, but it also encourages student volunteering. Pine duBois is working with high school students to use one of the bog areas that still remains in the Three Rivers Basin to set up a sustainable business, selling and maintaining the cranberries in this area. The majority of the Three Rivers Basin, 29 acres previously used for cranberry bogs, is being restored to the habitats that used to occupy the Jones River along Pine Brook.

To visit the Jones River Landing’s website and learn more about the Jones River Watershed Association, please visit http://jonesriver.org/ or WAA’s site at http://watershedaction.org/.