Release The Herring!

Will the salmon ever get any help, in the Conn. River.??

Thanks, Thomas, for your interesting article and terrific photos of the dam. I think you are referring to John Champion with CFE and Save the Sound rather than John Chapman. Please keep us up to date on the upcoming developments of this project.

[Ed: Thanks for the correction.[

There have been two attempts to restore salmon to the Connecticut River, both failures.
http://www.fws.gov/r5crc/atlantic_salmon_program.htm

Can the fish ladder be relocated and re-used?

Kevin,

Yes, the fish ladder can be reused. Although the dam measurements are particular to the dam the fish ladder itself is modular. The plan, as I understand it, is to put it into a "bank" of fishladder parts with the state so it can be reused in another location. CFE / Save the Sound might have more details on how that will work.

-JR (New Haven Land Trust, Board Chairman)

We (STS) do not have any details on how the Fisheries division of CT DEEP will reuse the fishway. Our commitment is to disconnect and have the unit available for them to reuse.

We (STS) are thrilled that we we can add (subtract( this improvement to the West River. This river is a jewel in an urban setting and along with Edgewood Park provides a respite for residents. There is still more work to be done to clean up all sources of pollution and to make the river pristine. We hope that we will have more projects that continue to this work in the near future.

What will happen to the land under the "Pond Lily" once the dam is removed and the pond drains?

Will it become a soggy, debris littered bog?
After over 200 years of silting due to the dam, will there be defined river channel or just a swampy area liable to flood the surrounding areas during periods of heavy rain?

I was in the neighborhood during the flooding around 1980 and believe that dam helped to prevent an even more severe flood.
The pond and the dam are fairly picturesque and are a part of the fabric (albeit underutilized) of the neighborhood.

Doug

Doug, your concerns have merit but most of the issues have been addressed by a long engineering and regulatory process. the first step in this process will be to lower the existing level of the water by a controlled breach of the dam. The river flow will the be diverted slightly and the old, historical river channel will be reestablished. Then the river flow will be diverted to this historic channel. The bank closest to Whalley Ave will be built up using the material on the site and there will be a planting of native species. There will not be a swampy area but rather a return to a river regime. The plans and concepts have been developed using the expertise of the MMI, a local engineering firm with significant experience in river restoration,and have been reviewed by the USACOE and the CTDEEP and New Haven City Plan.

The relationship of dams to local flooding is much more complicated than you suggest. Responding to that comment is beyond the scope of this venue but as part of the hydrologic analysis, the potential for flood damage was considered and the greater danger is an uncontrolled breach and a sudden release of water downstream. This is a probability considering the age and the condition of the current dam. The detailed engineering plans have been filed at City Plan and i suspect that if you make an appointment, you would be able to review and to gather a fuller understanding of what this project entails.