8 Aug – chapter meeting postponed; extra time will be spent at dam removal sites

Friday 11 August 2017
8:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.

Tour of Dam Removal Sites!!

Mill River Restoration (Taunton, MA)

The SWCS Southern New England Chapter is pleased to  present a tour of dam removal sites led by Beth Lambert, Aquatic Habitat Restoration Program Manager at the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration.  Beth has been managing the projects and has abundant hands-on knowledge.   “There are two completed dam removals with very different floodplain wetland characteristics; it will be interesting to compare and contrast trajectories.”

Based on survey feedback, this program will include intermediate- to advanced-level content.

There is plenty of parking at the dam sites, but leaving cars at the hotel and carpooling is also an option.

13 July 2017 update:
Mike Burke, PE, Water Resources Engineer at Inter-Fluve, will tag-team with Beth Lambert to present project information.

Beth will focus on all things sediment in her presentation – sampling plans, permitting, disposal and more.

23 July 2017 update: 

Venue for the indoor portion of the Summer Meeting

Holiday Inn Taunton-Foxboro Area
700 Myles Standish Boulevard
Taunton, MA 02780

8 Aug 2017 update:  

The Southern New England Chapter Meeting has been postponed; the extra half-hour will be spent on the dam removal sites.  

AGENDA   floor plan

8: 30 a.m. – 2nd floor Lobby
 – Registration

9 a.m. – Lincoln Room
 – Sediment Management on Mill River Restoration Dam Removal Projects
Beth Lambert | Aquatic Habitat Restoration Program Manager, MassDER

Beth will cover the MA regulations, sediment testing, options for sediment management, and will compare & contrast the two sites to be visited during the field tour.

10 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Field Tour
 – Whittenton Dam and State Hospital/Hopewell Mill Dam Removal Sites

The tour will be led by Mike Burke, with Beth chiming in.  Some background will be provided about the Mill River Restoration Project as a whole for context, but the focus will be on dam removal and all that entails.

 – Channel Design and Construction
Mike Burke | Water Resources Engineer, Inter-Fluve

Mike will provide detailed information during the tour about the considerations and process involved in designing stream channels in dam removal situations.

REGISTRATION    

Payment by credit card, check or invoice are accepted; options are presented after attendee info has been entered. 

• SWCS Member – $35

• Government – $35

• Non-Member – $45

• Student – $25

Blue Light Special – $125.00

for new members only — includes a 1-year SWCS and Southern New England Chapter membership at the $90 Professional level

Register 3, Get 1 FREE!!! 

25% off the standard rate when 4 or more attendees register together.

• Member/Gov Group     $26.25

• Non-Member Group    $33.75

 From the MassDER website at
http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/der/aquatic-habitat-restoration/mill-river-restoration.html

The Mill River is a tributary to the dam-free Wild and Scenic Taunton River which in turn flows into Narragansett Bay.  National attention focused on the Mill River in 2005 when Whittenton Dam came close to failing during an extreme flood.

Whittenton Dam

The crisis catalyzed the City, agencies and NGOs to examine the public safety benefits of removing three aging dams on the Mill River.  With guidance from MassDER and others, the Mill River Restoration Partners  and dam owners began to explore removing the three obsolete dams and building a fish ladder at a fourth.

Now, the Mill River Restoration Project is underway:

• Hopewell Mills Dam was removed in 2012.

Mill River Restoration Project Vital Statistics

Town:  Taunton

Major Watershed:  Taunton

Subwatershed:  Mill River

Partners:  MassDER, Southeastern Regional Planning and Economic Development District, The Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, Save the Bay, NOAA Restoration Center, US Fish and Wildlife Service,  USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service, MA Division of Marine Fisheries, MA Department of Mental Health MA Department of Transportation, Mass Audubon, Taunton River Watershed Alliance, Corporate Wetlands Restoration Program, dam owners