June 15, 2017 — The sound of rumbling excavators will join the rushing of the Pawcatuck River this week, as crews begin carving a temporary bypass channel around the Bradford Dam in preparation for the structure’s removal in July. The dam will be replaced with a more natural step-pool design, allowing more fish to swim upriver to their traditional breeding grounds and eliminating the risk of flooding from a catastrophic dam failure.
Bradford Dam is a 6-foot-high, 200-foot-wide structure built in the mid-1800s to support a mill on the riverbank. The mill has been idle for many years, and the dam has since fallen into disrepair, losing chunks of rock downstream in several recent major storms. In its current state, the dam restricts the movement of migratory and resident fish and is at risk of failing and causing a major flood during another powerful storm.
The dam removal is part of an effort to open up the 31-mile-long Pawcatuck River and associated wetlands for migrating American shad, alewife, blueback herring, American eel, and sea-run trout. Removal of the dam will improve connectivity for all of these species, many of which have historic breeding grounds that lie farther upstream.
In addition, the step-pool design will include a 10-foot-wide channel allowing canoes and kayaks to pass easily through the area. It will eliminate an awkward portage for paddlers almost immediately downstream of the popular boat launch at Bradford Landing.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Northeast Regional Director Wendi Weber said the removal of the Bradford Dam will reduce local flooding and eliminate the risk of dam failure in future storms.
“We’re proud to join with The Nature Conservancy and other partners in restoring our rivers and river systems to better withstand future storms and other environmental and land-use changes,” Weber said. “Healthy rivers are lifelines for communities in the Northeast -- providing recreation, water quality, strong economies and other benefits. By connecting and opening waterways like the Pawcatuck River, we’re helping wildlife thrive and creating more resilient communities for people.”
Before the dam itself can be removed, crews must clear the work area next to the river to make way for a bypass channel. The channel, along with temporary cofferdams, will divert water away from the dam, leaving it accessible for demolition. The clearing, demolition and eventual restoration of the area are being performed by SumCo Eco-Contracting of Salem, Mass., with engineering assistance provided by Fuss & O’Neill of Providence, R.I.
The $1.8-million project is being overseen by The Nature Conservancy and is supported by $821,000 in federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery and resilience projects. The funds are part of a $1.98-million cooperative agreement between the Conservancy and the Service for the Pawcatuck River, which included the removal of the White Rock Dam and improvements to the Potter Hill Dam fishway. Additional public funds were provided by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management and the R.I. Coastal and Estuary Habitat Restoration Fund.
The Conservancy raised the balance of the project funding from The Champlin Foundation, the Bafflin Foundation, the Horace A. Kimball and S. Ella Kimball Foundation, the Rhode Island Foundation, and individual donors.
“We’re changing how the Pawcatuck River and the Atlantic Ocean speak to each other,” said John Torgan, Rhode Island state director for The Nature Conservancy. “The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a terrific partner, and we’re working closely together on fish passage fish passage
Fish passage is the ability of fish or other aquatic species to move freely throughout their life to find food, reproduce, and complete their natural migration cycles. Millions of barriers to fish passage across the country are fragmenting habitat and leading to species declines. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's National Fish Passage Program is working to reconnect watersheds to benefit both wildlife and people.
Learn more about fish passage and other great conservation work all across the country.”
“It’s been a two-year process, but the outcome makes it all worthwhile,” added Scott Comings, associate state director for The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island. “We can’t wait to see the dam gone and the river flowing freely again. It will make a tremendous difference in terms of the quality of the habitat and the ability of fish to migrate. And it will be a lot easier to paddle through there safely.”
R.I. Department of Environmental Management Director Janet Coit noted that the Bradford Dam removal is part of a larger effort to enhance migratory fish passage from Little Narragansett Bay to Worden Pond.
“Already, we've made important progress in restoring passage at the main stem of the Pawcatuck River,” said Coit. “And thanks to recent improvements at the Potter Hill fishway, the removal of White Rock Dam, and past fish stocking efforts, we’re seeing large numbers of fish returning to the lower Pawcatuck River and the Horseshoe Falls fishway. River herring are an essential part of Rhode Island’s ecosystem, and their protection is important to the natural resource landscape of the state.”
The Pawcatuck River is being considered for designation as a federally protected Wild and Scenic River. The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 established the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and authorizes Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations. The act is notable for safeguarding the special character of these rivers, while also recognizing the potential for their appropriate use and development. The act encourages river management that crosses political boundaries and promotes public participation in developing goals for river protection.
Learn more about Wild and Scenic Rivers System “preserves certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of present and future generations.”
Additional partners on the Bradford Dam project include R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council, Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association, which has led fish passage projects at Lower Shannock Falls, Horseshoe Falls, and Kenyon Mill dams.
“The Nature Conservancy is grateful to all of our partners, who have helped move this project forward. The Pawcatuck River and its tributary streams comprise one of the most pristine river systems in southern New England, and we’re excited to see this stretch run wild for the first time in more than 150 years,” Conservancy Rhode Island State Director Torgan said.
Demolition of the dam is expected to begin in earnest in mid-July, with the river returned to its natural channel by late December. Restoration of the cleared area will take place the following spring. The mill will be protected as part of the Bradford Village Historical District. Archaeologists from the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission will be on site to take photos and document the removal process, in case there are tribal or other objects underneath the dam structure.
