The WRP is working with partners to complete a design to remove the Upper & Lower Eaton Dams on the First Branch of the White River in Royalton.
Upper Eaton Dam
View upstream from Mill Village in 1913: Lower Dam, Factory, Covered Bridge, and Upper Dam (Royalton Historical Society)
The Upper Eaton Dam is located immediately upstream of Royalton’s Mill Road bridge.
Originally built from logs, the dam was rebuilt in 1924 using concrete. The dam was damaged in the 1927 flood, and was not rebuilt.
This dam provided power for the “factory” building that was built in 1882. Before it burned in 1968, the factory was used to make finished lumber, shoes, and small wood parts like drum hoops, hockey sticks, step stools, and clothes pins.
Lower Eaton Dam
The Lower Eaton Dam is located downstream of the Mill Road bridge and immediately upstream of the Mill Village complex.
Originally built from logs in 1776, this dam was rebuilt in the 1920s using concrete. The dam was damaged in the 1927 flood, and was rebuilt in 1943.
This dam provided power for the Mill Village businesses, including a grist mill, saw mill, carding machines and fulling mill, and blacksmith shop. Manufacturing at the Mill Village declined after the railroad was built and South Royalton village became the commerce center in town around the 1870s. The saw mill was in operation until 1970.
Why remove dams?
There are over 1,000 dams located on Vermont’s rivers and streams that serve no useful purpose: originally built to provide a source of power for manufacturing and other private and public uses, these “deadbeat” dams have been abandoned and most have fallen into disrepair.
However many of these dams still span the river channels they were built to harness. So they are blocking the movement of water, sediment, and aquatic life.
Removing these dams restores connectivity to a river system:
Clean water: Sediments trapped behind a dam can contain high levels of pollutants. Removing a dam allows sediments to move through the system, improving water quality.
Fish movement: Vermont’s native fish need to move upstream to find food, to lay their eggs, and to seek cold water during the hot summer months. Removing a dam allows fish and other aquatic life to move freely between upstream and downstream habitats.
Fewer flood damages: Dams elevate water levels and may cause localized flooding during rain events. Removing a dam returns water levels to normal elevations and may reduce damages associated with localized flooding.
The Upper & Lower Eaton Dams are “deadbeat” dams – they no longer serve a useful purpose, and are in disrepair. Both dams prevent fish from migrating upstream and sediment/debris from moving downstream. Removing the dams would improve water quality and restore fish passage to over 30 miles of the White River.
Dam removals in the White River watershed
The WRP is working with our partners to remove deadbeat dams along the White River:
The Randolph Dam on the Third Branch of the White River – removed in 2016
The Upper & Lower Eaton Dam on the First Branch of the White River – removal design in 2018
The Hyde Dam on the Second Branch of the White River – removal design in 2018
In sum these 5 projects will restore 275 miles of the White River to free-flowing conditions!
Eaton Dam removal design partners
The Upper & Lower Eaton Dam removal design project is in progress – a 30{db44c3d5e5b2521111bb9179cb40e40c4d2777ab57a0c9e12ea819349259de2f} design is complete and a 100{db44c3d5e5b2521111bb9179cb40e40c4d2777ab57a0c9e12ea819349259de2f} design will be completed by the end of 2018.
The WRP has completed a project to remove the Killooleet Dam from the White River’s Hancock Branch.
Killooleet Dam remnants before removal
From August to September 2018 the WRP worked with partners to remove the remnants of the Killooleet Dam and to raise streambed elevation along 500 feet of the Hancock Branch.
Identified as a high-priority in two state-funded reports, the project opens 87 miles of stream to fish passage; improves in-stream habitat and channel stability; and reconnects the Hancock Branch to the floodplain along its north bank.
Dam history
The Killooleet Dam was originally built in the early 1900s to feed a private trout fishing pond. The dam was damaged during the 1927 flood, but was rebuilt when a summer camp was created at the site of the former trout fishing club.
According to the Camp Killooleet website, “Founded in 1927 by Margaret Bartlett and Toni Taylor, Killooleet has been owned and directed by the Seeger Family for over sixty years.” John and Ellie Seeger passed the business along to their daughter Kate and her husband Dean Spencer in 1998.
The dam was damaged during a flood in 2008, then breached during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Remnants of the dam blocked a portion of the Hancock Branch and kept the stream from accessing the floodplain along its north bank.
2018 project
In 2017 the WRP received funding to develop priority projects identified in the state-funded Upper & Middle White River Corridor Plan (2015). The Plan identified 2 high-priority projects along Camp Killooleet’s property: removing the Killooleet Dam and reconnecting floodplain along the Hancock Branch.
Building a channel-spanning rock weir
The project developed after Kate Seeger expressed an interest in partnering on both projects and funded the engineering design to expedite implementation. Working closely with Kate and engineering firm Ripple Natural Resources, the WRP applied for and received VT Ecosystem Restoration Program funds to implement both in-stream projects in 2018.
After finalizing the design, applying for permits, and advertising for bids, the project partners hired Harvey’s Excavating (Rochester) to construct the in-stream project components during summer 2018. Harvey’s removed the Killooleet Dam in August, breaking apart the concrete dam remnants and removing the pieces. In September Harvey’s built 3 channel-spanning rock weirs along a 500-foot stretch of the Hancock Branch using large stone and native rock found on-site.
Project outcomes
New pool complex at former Killooleet Dam site
Removing the Killooleet Dam opens 87 miles of stream to fish passage and the free-flowing movement of sediment, ice, and debris, including 36 miles upstream and 51 miles downstream of the former dam site.
Building 3 channel-spanning rock weirs along 500 feet of the Hancock Branch reconnects the stream to an adjacent floodplain by raising the streambed elevation and improves fish habitat by creating pool habitat and channel roughness.
Working with partners to restore fish passage is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with partners, funders, and 5 towns to complete 14 culvert replacement and dam removal projects, opening 212 miles of river in Hancock, Pomfret, Randolph, Rochester, and Sharon.
Construction has started to remove the last barrier to fish passage on Wing Brook in Rochester: the stream-crossing culvert at Wing Farm Road.
The Wing Farm Road culvert is located near the mouth of Wing Brook, and is one of only three stream-crossing structures on the stream. Until recently all three structures were under-sized, making them barriers to fish passage and vulnerable to flood damages.
Why under-sized culverts matter
Stream-crossing culverts are under-sized when the width of the structure is narrower than the stream is wide – over 80% of the culverts in the White River watershed fit this description. Why does this matter?
Under-sized, stream-crossing culverts make roads vulnerable to flood damages.
During a rainstorm, water backs-up behind under-sized culverts because the stream flow is wider than the culvert inlet. Water that can’t pass through the culvert forms a whirlpool upstream, eating away at – or eroding – the river and road banks as the water rises higher and higher.
The Wing Farm Road culvert inlet is narrower than the stream is wide.
In smaller rainstorms this erosion can cause the river and road banks to slump, requiring regular maintenance to prevent a complete collapse. In larger rainstorms this erosion can wash away the road completely – this happened in hundreds of locations during Tropical Storm Irene.
Under-sized culverts also block the passage of fish. Vermont’s native fish need to migrate upstream in search of cool water during the summer months and to lay their eggs during the spring or fall.
During a rainstorm the water that passes through an under-sized culvert is moving at high speed – like water passing through a garden hose when you put your thumb over part of the opening. When it exits the culvert, the fast-moving water scours the stream downstream, eroding the bed and banks.
Over time this scouring action lowers the bed of the river below the culvert, creating a large drop – or perch – from the culvert outlet to the water below. Native fish can only jump about 1-foot, so culverts that are perched more than 1 foot become a barrier to fish trying to move upstream.
“The impact under-sized culverts have on native fish can be easy to observe,” states Executive Director Mary Russ. “During the low water conditions this summer, many people reported seeing groups of fish congregating in the pools below perched culverts or near the mouths of cold-water streams.” According to Russ, “Many of these fish were stuck – they were unable to move through under-sized, stream-crossing culverts to access cold-water habitat upstream. Some of these fish survived; some did not.”
Focusing on Wing Brook
Wing Brook is a tributary to the West Branch of the White River. From its headwaters in Hancock, Wing Brook travels over 5 miles through a primarily-forested landscape on its way to its confluence with the West Branch in Rochester. Along the way its pools and riffles are home to healthy populations of native fish – like brook trout – as well as the waterbugs they depend on. As a result Wing Brook is an important spawning stream in this portion of the Upper White River watershed.
After Tropical Storm Irene the WRP and its partners identified Wing Brook as an important fish passage restoration site for several reasons:
There were only three stream-crossing structures in the 2.8-square-mile Wing Brook watershed and all three were under-sized.
Two of these road/stream crossings suffered major damages during Tropical Storm Irene and required ongoing maintenance to prevent road failure.
The Wing Brook confluence is located within the West Branch Restoration Project area, a 1.5-mile long, in-stream and riverside habitat restoration project completed after Tropical Storm Irene.
The WRP worked with partners to replace the Maple Hill Road culvert in 2016 (pictured) and the Marine Hill Road culvert in 2017.
Using Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department State Wildlife Grant funds, the WRP worked with Rochester-based engineer Kricket McCusker to design replacement projects for the three, town-owned, stream-crossing culverts on Wing Brook at Maple Hill Road, Marine Hill Road, and Wing Farm Road in Rochester.
Then, using a combination of US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and private foundation funding, the WRP worked with partners and local contractors to replace the Maple Hill Road and Marine Hill Road culverts in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The Wing Farm Road culvert replacement will complete the project, reducing flood damages at road/stream crossings and restoring fish passage to the entire Wing Brook watershed.
The project also supports the local economy. Project funding benefits local businesses – from the design engineer to the construction contractors.
A culvert replacement project in action
If you’re driving through Rochester this month and have a few minutes to spare, head west on Rte 73 for 1.5 miles; turn right on Maple Hill Road; then drive 0.3 miles to Wing Farm Road and turn left. Slow down after 0.1 miles to drive over the temporary bridge across Wing Brook and you’ll see heavy machinery from Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating (Rochester, VT) working at the site.
Over the past few weeks Harvey’s operators have installed the temporary bridge to allow traffic to bypass the construction site; removed the road material down to the new stream bed elevation; removed the old metal culvert; and knocked out the concrete cradles at the culvert inlet and outlet along with 2 old, concrete bridge abutments uncovered during the road excavation work.
Operators cut the Wing Farm Road culvert in half before removing it with an excavator.
This week the operators will install a series of rock weirs – large rocks buried in the stream bed and banks in the shape of a channel-spanning “U.” The weirs insure fish can pass upstream by holding the bed elevation at a constant slope and directing water through the center of the new channel.
In a few weeks subcontractors from Tremblay Construction (Washington, VT) will pour concrete footings and abutments for the new bridge. And sometime near the beginning of September, a crane operator will place a 60-foot-span bridge on the new abutments to complete the project.
Wing Farm Road project partners
The WRP is working with a number of partners to implement the Wing Farm Road culvert replacement project, including the town of Rochester, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, High Meadows Fund, National Forest Foundation, State Wildlife Grant, and Vermont Clean Water Block Grant as well as local contractors Kricket McCusker, Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating, and Tremblay Construction.
Working with partners to restore fish passage is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with partners, funders, and 5 towns to complete 13 culvert replacement and dam removal projects, opening 125 miles of river in Hancock, Pomfret, Randolph, Rochester, and Sharon.
News
Posted: October 15, 2018 by wrp_admin
Eaton Dams removal design project
The WRP is working with partners to complete a design to remove the Upper & Lower Eaton Dams on the First Branch of the White River in Royalton.
Upper Eaton Dam
The Upper Eaton Dam is located immediately upstream of Royalton’s Mill Road bridge.
Originally built from logs, the dam was rebuilt in 1924 using concrete. The dam was damaged in the 1927 flood, and was not rebuilt.
This dam provided power for the “factory” building that was built in 1882. Before it burned in 1968, the factory was used to make finished lumber, shoes, and small wood parts like drum hoops, hockey sticks, step stools, and clothes pins.
Lower Eaton Dam
The Lower Eaton Dam is located downstream of the Mill Road bridge and immediately upstream of the Mill Village complex.
Originally built from logs in 1776, this dam was rebuilt in the 1920s using concrete. The dam was damaged in the 1927 flood, and was rebuilt in 1943.
This dam provided power for the Mill Village businesses, including a grist mill, saw mill, carding machines and fulling mill, and blacksmith shop. Manufacturing at the Mill Village declined after the railroad was built and South Royalton village became the commerce center in town around the 1870s. The saw mill was in operation until 1970.
Why remove dams?
There are over 1,000 dams located on Vermont’s rivers and streams that serve no useful purpose: originally built to provide a source of power for manufacturing and other private and public uses, these “deadbeat” dams have been abandoned and most have fallen into disrepair.
However many of these dams still span the river channels they were built to harness. So they are blocking the movement of water, sediment, and aquatic life.
Removing these dams restores connectivity to a river system:
The Upper & Lower Eaton Dams are “deadbeat” dams – they no longer serve a useful purpose, and are in disrepair. Both dams prevent fish from migrating upstream and sediment/debris from moving downstream. Removing the dams would improve water quality and restore fish passage to over 30 miles of the White River.
Dam removals in the White River watershed
The WRP is working with our partners to remove deadbeat dams along the White River:
In sum these 5 projects will restore 275 miles of the White River to free-flowing conditions!
Eaton Dam removal design partners
The Upper & Lower Eaton Dam removal design project is in progress – a 30{db44c3d5e5b2521111bb9179cb40e40c4d2777ab57a0c9e12ea819349259de2f} design is complete and a 100{db44c3d5e5b2521111bb9179cb40e40c4d2777ab57a0c9e12ea819349259de2f} design will be completed by the end of 2018.
Project partners include 2 landowners, Randolph-based engineering firm Ripple Natural Resources, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, Vermont Ecosystem Restoration Program, Upper Connecticut River Mitigation and Enhancement Fund, and US Fish & Wildlife Service.
For more information, visit our Fish Passage Project page.
Posted: October 9, 2018 by wrp_admin
Killooleet Dam removed on the Hancock Branch
The WRP has completed a project to remove the Killooleet Dam from the White River’s Hancock Branch.
From August to September 2018 the WRP worked with partners to remove the remnants of the Killooleet Dam and to raise streambed elevation along 500 feet of the Hancock Branch.
Identified as a high-priority in two state-funded reports, the project opens 87 miles of stream to fish passage; improves in-stream habitat and channel stability; and reconnects the Hancock Branch to the floodplain along its north bank.
Dam history
The Killooleet Dam was originally built in the early 1900s to feed a private trout fishing pond. The dam was damaged during the 1927 flood, but was rebuilt when a summer camp was created at the site of the former trout fishing club.
According to the Camp Killooleet website, “Founded in 1927 by Margaret Bartlett and Toni Taylor, Killooleet has been owned and directed by the Seeger Family for over sixty years.” John and Ellie Seeger passed the business along to their daughter Kate and her husband Dean Spencer in 1998.
The dam was damaged during a flood in 2008, then breached during Tropical Storm Irene in August 2011. Remnants of the dam blocked a portion of the Hancock Branch and kept the stream from accessing the floodplain along its north bank.
2018 project
In 2017 the WRP received funding to develop priority projects identified in the state-funded Upper & Middle White River Corridor Plan (2015). The Plan identified 2 high-priority projects along Camp Killooleet’s property: removing the Killooleet Dam and reconnecting floodplain along the Hancock Branch.
The project developed after Kate Seeger expressed an interest in partnering on both projects and funded the engineering design to expedite implementation. Working closely with Kate and engineering firm Ripple Natural Resources, the WRP applied for and received VT Ecosystem Restoration Program funds to implement both in-stream projects in 2018.
After finalizing the design, applying for permits, and advertising for bids, the project partners hired Harvey’s Excavating (Rochester) to construct the in-stream project components during summer 2018. Harvey’s removed the Killooleet Dam in August, breaking apart the concrete dam remnants and removing the pieces. In September Harvey’s built 3 channel-spanning rock weirs along a 500-foot stretch of the Hancock Branch using large stone and native rock found on-site.
Project outcomes
Removing the Killooleet Dam opens 87 miles of stream to fish passage and the free-flowing movement of sediment, ice, and debris, including 36 miles upstream and 51 miles downstream of the former dam site.
Building 3 channel-spanning rock weirs along 500 feet of the Hancock Branch reconnects the stream to an adjacent floodplain by raising the streambed elevation and improves fish habitat by creating pool habitat and channel roughness.
Project partners include Camp Killooleet, Ripple Natural Resources (Randolph), Harvey’s Excavating, VT Department of Environmental Conservation, and VT Ecosystem Restoration Program.
Working with partners to restore fish passage is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with partners, funders, and 5 towns to complete 14 culvert replacement and dam removal projects, opening 212 miles of river in Hancock, Pomfret, Randolph, Rochester, and Sharon.
Posted: August 2, 2018 by wrp_admin
Last fish passage barrier removed on Rochester’s Wing Brook
Construction has started to remove the last barrier to fish passage on Wing Brook in Rochester: the stream-crossing culvert at Wing Farm Road.
The Wing Farm Road culvert is located near the mouth of Wing Brook, and is one of only three stream-crossing structures on the stream. Until recently all three structures were under-sized, making them barriers to fish passage and vulnerable to flood damages.
Why under-sized culverts matter
Stream-crossing culverts are under-sized when the width of the structure is narrower than the stream is wide – over 80% of the culverts in the White River watershed fit this description. Why does this matter?
Under-sized, stream-crossing culverts make roads vulnerable to flood damages.
During a rainstorm, water backs-up behind under-sized culverts because the stream flow is wider than the culvert inlet. Water that can’t pass through the culvert forms a whirlpool upstream, eating away at – or eroding – the river and road banks as the water rises higher and higher.
In smaller rainstorms this erosion can cause the river and road banks to slump, requiring regular maintenance to prevent a complete collapse. In larger rainstorms this erosion can wash away the road completely – this happened in hundreds of locations during Tropical Storm Irene.
Under-sized culverts also block the passage of fish. Vermont’s native fish need to migrate upstream in search of cool water during the summer months and to lay their eggs during the spring or fall.
During a rainstorm the water that passes through an under-sized culvert is moving at high speed – like water passing through a garden hose when you put your thumb over part of the opening. When it exits the culvert, the fast-moving water scours the stream downstream, eroding the bed and banks.
Over time this scouring action lowers the bed of the river below the culvert, creating a large drop – or perch – from the culvert outlet to the water below. Native fish can only jump about 1-foot, so culverts that are perched more than 1 foot become a barrier to fish trying to move upstream.
“The impact under-sized culverts have on native fish can be easy to observe,” states Executive Director Mary Russ. “During the low water conditions this summer, many people reported seeing groups of fish congregating in the pools below perched culverts or near the mouths of cold-water streams.” According to Russ, “Many of these fish were stuck – they were unable to move through under-sized, stream-crossing culverts to access cold-water habitat upstream. Some of these fish survived; some did not.”
Focusing on Wing Brook
Wing Brook is a tributary to the West Branch of the White River. From its headwaters in Hancock, Wing Brook travels over 5 miles through a primarily-forested landscape on its way to its confluence with the West Branch in Rochester. Along the way its pools and riffles are home to healthy populations of native fish – like brook trout – as well as the waterbugs they depend on. As a result Wing Brook is an important spawning stream in this portion of the Upper White River watershed.
After Tropical Storm Irene the WRP and its partners identified Wing Brook as an important fish passage restoration site for several reasons:
Using Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department State Wildlife Grant funds, the WRP worked with Rochester-based engineer Kricket McCusker to design replacement projects for the three, town-owned, stream-crossing culverts on Wing Brook at Maple Hill Road, Marine Hill Road, and Wing Farm Road in Rochester.
Then, using a combination of US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, and private foundation funding, the WRP worked with partners and local contractors to replace the Maple Hill Road and Marine Hill Road culverts in 2016 and 2017 respectively.
The Wing Farm Road culvert replacement will complete the project, reducing flood damages at road/stream crossings and restoring fish passage to the entire Wing Brook watershed.
The project also supports the local economy. Project funding benefits local businesses – from the design engineer to the construction contractors.
A culvert replacement project in action
If you’re driving through Rochester this month and have a few minutes to spare, head west on Rte 73 for 1.5 miles; turn right on Maple Hill Road; then drive 0.3 miles to Wing Farm Road and turn left. Slow down after 0.1 miles to drive over the temporary bridge across Wing Brook and you’ll see heavy machinery from Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating (Rochester, VT) working at the site.
Over the past few weeks Harvey’s operators have installed the temporary bridge to allow traffic to bypass the construction site; removed the road material down to the new stream bed elevation; removed the old metal culvert; and knocked out the concrete cradles at the culvert inlet and outlet along with 2 old, concrete bridge abutments uncovered during the road excavation work.
This week the operators will install a series of rock weirs – large rocks buried in the stream bed and banks in the shape of a channel-spanning “U.” The weirs insure fish can pass upstream by holding the bed elevation at a constant slope and directing water through the center of the new channel.
In a few weeks subcontractors from Tremblay Construction (Washington, VT) will pour concrete footings and abutments for the new bridge. And sometime near the beginning of September, a crane operator will place a 60-foot-span bridge on the new abutments to complete the project.
Wing Farm Road project partners
The WRP is working with a number of partners to implement the Wing Farm Road culvert replacement project, including the town of Rochester, US Forest Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, High Meadows Fund, National Forest Foundation, State Wildlife Grant, and Vermont Clean Water Block Grant as well as local contractors Kricket McCusker, Harvey’s Plumbing & Excavating, and Tremblay Construction.
Working with partners to restore fish passage is one important way the WRP accomplishes its mission: bringing people together to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed. Since 2008 the WRP has worked with partners, funders, and 5 towns to complete 13 culvert replacement and dam removal projects, opening 125 miles of river in Hancock, Pomfret, Randolph, Rochester, and Sharon.