Dams Along the Winooski

Dams have historically played a huge presence in Vermont since the state is chock full of rivers to take advantage of.  Since rivers offer a relatively simple method of generating electricity, dozens of dams have been constructed throughout history in villages to power mills. Some of the nearby dams include ones in Essex, Winooski, Waterbury, and even smaller dams in Marshfield and Plainfield.  Once built, they have much to offer to the local people, but also present plenty of problems to the organisms that inhabit the river and nearby area. According to the VT River Quality organization, “the loss of turbulent flow may reduce dissolved oxygen concentration,” create a more lake-like habitat, as well as alter the habitat of nearly all organism that inhabit the river.  Spawning habitat often disappears or is physically blocked by the sheer size of a dam across a river, and the geomorphology and natural dynamics are altered.  These effects on geomorphology and hydrology are particularly important when considering the impacts of floods on dams, as Steve Libby from the VRC pointed out.  It is always interesting to see how human made structures react to the wrath that is Mother Nature, and the catastrophic floods that have hit Vermont both in 1927 and again last year are a perfect example. Dams "deny rivers their ability to meander and access their floodplains" which normally dissipates the abundant energy present in a river, and thus carries accumulated sediment and nutrients straight into reservoirs such as Lake Champlain and feeding algae blooms.  When floods occur in stream channels like this that humans have restricted, greater amounts of bed and bank erosion occur, setting up for "a never-ending cycle" of larger floods occurring and even more structures being built to attempt to contain the river.  
   
Somewhat unfortunate, the large quantity of small dams constructed in quaint Vermont towns has also given rise to a sentimental cultural value associated with their historic character, which makes removal of them subject to much controversy.  In most cases, dams are not economically viable anymore but add to the aesthetic charm of the town.  Limited efforts are being made to remove dams, but it is often difficult to predict how the restored natural dynamics of the river will affect the houses, etc that are close by.

You can see some of the physical impacts that dams have had on the Winooski River in the below photographs.

Winooksi River at Essex, Pre-Dam

Winooski at Essex, Post Dam
Essex Dam during Flood, Nov. 4, 1927

Winooski Upper Falls, post dam circa 1908

Winooski Falls, pre- lower falls dam

Aerial View of Winooski, 1927 flood

Caption: "River Scene, the Sinking of the Winooski- Burlington Bridge, Nov. 4, 1927"

Sign posts say: (top post) Winooski river

(bottom post) Winooski, Burlington

"Winooski-B Bridge Flood Scene", Nov. 4, 1927

Aerial View 1927, near Ft. Allen
Aerial View, Williston Railroad Bridge Nov. 11, 1927

Although historically dams have been favored and sought after to construct because of their lack of emissions in our increasingly polluted world, the tide has turned (at least in the US) away from new construction. Not only are dams extremely expensive, but the environmental and energetic factors associated with them, including their growing inefficiency in light of new technology, has halted the formally intense construction of them.

I decided to look further into the sociological role that dams play on the Winooski. Various people interact with the river every day, including recreationists (kayakers, swimmers, anglers, etc), energy companies, farmers, and businesses that directly impact the river.

Kayakers and canoeists typically do not see the numerous dams across the river favorably. As evidenced on the Winooski Valley Park District guide to paddling the river, it is clearly a nuisance to paddle a river like the Winooski that has to be broken up into so many parts to complete the entire stretch. This involves frequent portages and added time onto trips that could otherwise be spent paddling. Kayakers love the river, but often view dams negatively because of the added time on. Of course, sentiments such as these are also echoed (rather intensely) by the likes of George Hayduke and Seldom Smith, a recreation rafting guide in The Monkey Wrench Gang by Ed Abbey, who simply see the beauty and wild nature of rivers destroyed when impediments like the Glen Canyon Dam are constructed.  This is one of the reasons why Steve Libby, executive director of the Vermont River Conservancy, is working on a project with Friends of the Winooski that would create access points along the length of the river for paddlers to make (legal and safe) places to portage around dams, and camp if they desire.

Guide to Paddling the Winooski

Citations

VT Dept. of Environmental Conservation. (2007). How a dam affects a river. Retrieved from website: http://www.vtwaterquality.org/rivers/htm/rv_dameffects.htm

Libby, S. (2012, April 6). Interview by SS, EN [Personal Interview].

Winooski Valley Park District. (n.d.). Winooski river canoe and kayak maps. Retrieved from website: http://www.wvpd.org/canoemaps.htm

“Living in Harmony with Streams: A Citizen’s Handbook to How Streams Work”. Prepared by Friends of the Winooski, White River Natural Resources Conservation District, Winooksi Natural Resources Conservation District. 2012.

Photographs and Post Cards- Courtesy of UVM Special Collections