The City of Lynchburg in Virginia recently announced the completion of its project removing College Lake Dam and restoring Blackwater Creek, according to reporting by WDBJ7.
The project has been ongoing for several years and was a response to the 2018 overtopping of the College Lake Dam, which almost caused the dam to collapse. This event also led to College Lake becoming polluted by urban and agricultural runoff, making the once-popular recreation area unsafe.
College Lake was created from Blackwater Creek in 1934 thanks to the construction of the dam, but now, with its removal, the upstream and downstream sections of this stream are reconnected for the first time in 90 years.
In addition to the reconstruction of Blackwater Creek, the removal of the dam means that areas downstream of this waterway no longer face the risk of inundation from the dam's failure.
As WDBJ7 reported, Erin Hawkins, who acted as the City's project manager and is a water quality manager for Lynchburg Water Resources, explained, "Removing the risk that this dam presented to people, property and infrastructure downstream of the old College Lake is a tremendous achievement for the City and our partners in this effort."
Along with the dam's removal also came stream channel and wetland restoration, which has helped create a new ecosystem in what was once College Lake's lakebed. Overall, the steps taken to complete this restoration project included the creation of new wetlands to encourage wildlife biodiversity and improve water quality, floodplain stabilization, and the management and removal of legacy sediment from the lakebed.
In the future, the city plans to install native trees, grasses, and shrubs to encourage more pollinators and wildlife in the area.
The removal of the College Lake Dam and the restoration of Blackwater Creek and nearby wetland areas are excellent examples of how powerful restoration projects like these can be.
While this project was first and foremost a safety project to ensure that people and infrastructure downstream would no longer be at risk of potential flooding, the City's hard work will also see this area's natural habitats and ecosystems thrive. Plus, as more pollinators flock to the native plants the City will install, food supplies will be better protected.
Even now, the current changes have made a difference, as Hawkins explained on the College Lake Dam Removal website, "We're already seeing this area come to life with native plants, pollinators, and wildlife."
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