NORRIDGEWOCK (AP) – Machines on Friday began removing a granite and concrete dam that has blocked the Sandy River between Norridgewock and Starks for more than a century.
Removal of the 313-foot Sandy River Dam will allow passage of salmon and other sea-run fish that swim upstream from the Kennebec River. The project is expected to cost $500,000.
Two excavators were at the scene Friday morning taking down the structure, starting a process that is expected to take about two months, Calvin Ames of Madison Electric Works said as he observed the project.
The dam, which was built in 1897, used to provide all of the power used in the town of Madison, but in recent years that has been reduced to less than 2 percent. Removal of the dam will restore a natural six-foot waterfall in the river.
A powerhouse next to the dam will not be removed because the structure, built in 1893 and one of the first power stations in Maine built solely to generate power, is on the National Historic Register. No new use for the building has yet been determined, Ames said.
Fish-restoration groups have been looking forward to the dam removal.
“This is another step in a long-term project (of) restoring sea-run fish to the Kennebec watershed,” said Jeff Reardon of Trout Unlimited. “It’s a great day for the river.”
Bill Hogarth, assistant administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, said removal of New England dams is a priority for the federal agency because of the benefits to migratory fish species and the health of the river.
Removal of the Sandy River Dam will allow for 52 miles of unimpeded passage for Atlantic salmon and other migratory fish, according a study by the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission.
The idea of removing aging dams that are expensive to maintain and block natural passages for sea-run fish has gained momentum in recent years. The average life expectancy of a dam is about 50 years.
In the past six years, 185 of the roughly 78,000 dams in the United States have been taken down. In 1999, the 162-year-old Edwards Dam on the Kennebec River in Augusta became the first dam ordered removed by the federal government as a way of restoring the environment.
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