Officials stunned by impacts after 105-year-old dam is removed: 'A healthy community'

The removal of a 105-year-old dam in Flint, Michigan, is boosting wildlife and the community.

Hamilton Dam was demolished, and the area was restored in March, reconnecting 25 miles of the Flint River and creating safe opportunities for recreation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service reported. Lake sturgeon can now return to historic spawning grounds, and half a dozen other fish will benefit.

The project is part of a larger effort by Genesee County to restore the river and riverfront. FWS said this portion will improve water quality and rebalance the natural landscape, which helps to manage stormwater runoff and control flooding.

The 218-foot dam was created in 1920 "to sustain water levels for an upstream water treatment plant" and later used in milling operations, as a water source, and in Army Corps of Engineers flood control projects, per FWS. In 1978, a fish ladder was added, but it was ineffective.

Other dams, as well as channelization, dredging, and urban development, degraded the river, and the dam in the 1980s was declared highly hazardous — as many low-head dams are. Its replacement was also mandated because of its condition.

"Dammed rivers lack the diversity of habitat necessary for many fish to survive," FWS stated. But crews had to recreate "complex, high velocity areas." They used rocks, root wads, and woody debris for stability and grade control and to direct the flow of water.

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Dam removal projects are gaining popularity as the structures lose their utility. Used to harness the power of water for energy — and also for irrigation, water supply, and flood control — dams in many places have outlived that usefulness.

In Pennsylvania, a similar operation produced immediate and significant results. On the West Coast, officials worked with Native Americans on the largest such undertaking in U.S. history.

"An active community is a healthy community," FWS wrote. "We … believe that nothing gets active communities in the flow of recreation like a river."

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