BRADFORD – Preparations to remove the Bradford Dam on the Pawcatuck River begin this week, according to a press release on Thursday by The Nature Conservancy Rhode Island, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving ecologically important lands and waters.
The Bradford Dam is a structure built in the mid-1800s that powered a mill. However, the mill has since fallen into disrepair. The dam, which is at risk of failure, will be replaced with a step-pool design, which is more conducive to fish migration. The step-pool design will also include a 10-foot-wide channel allowing canoes and kayaks to pass easily through the area as well as reduce the risk of flooding.
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The project is expected to cost $1.8 million, with $821,000 of federal funding for Hurricane Sandy recovery and relief funds. Funds were also provided by the R.I. Department of Environmental Management and the R.I. Coastal and Estuary Habitat Restoration Fund.
The removal of the 6-foot-high, 200-foot-long dam is part of a greater project to open a 31-mile stretch of the Pawcatuck.
“Already, we’ve made important progress in restoring passage at the main stem of the Pawcatuck River,” said R.I. Department of Environmental Management Director Janet 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 work that will begin this week will involve crews digging a temporary bypass channel around the dam in preparation for the dam’s removal in July. The river is expected to be returned to its natural course by December.
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.
The Conservacy 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.
“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 John Torgan said.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor.
