#Vermont #DamRemoval Program Reclaims #Floodplain
Crews removed a century-old #WestRutland, Vt. dam to prevent flooding
By Johanna Knapschaefer, October 16, 2025
Excerpt: "Reclaiming Floodplains
Removing the Young’s Brook Dam—the source of safety and flooding hazards for decades—could restore more than half an acre of flood plain. Mary Ann Goulette, West Rutland’s town manager, says the dam’s 'removal not only reduces risk to homes, businesses, and infrastructure downstream, but also restores a natural river system that will serve us far better in the face of increasingly severe storms.'
"In that spirit, the Flood Safety Act will authorize the state to preclude development within the #RiverCorridor for dams removed from a stream site with a drainage area greater than two square miles helping to 'manage stream and floodplain processes toward a more natural equilibrium state,' says Mike Kline, a member of the Vermont Dam Task Force who spearheaded the act after retiring from a 30-year career in the Vermont Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
"Kline says dams can disrupt natural sediment transport processes in streams, leading to more sediment deposition in some places and greater erosion in others. Removing dams with impoundments allows for the creation of 'floodplains that function to store floodwaters and promote greater equilibrium between erosion and deposition, thereby reducing fluvial erosion during flood events,' he says."
Read more:
https://www.enr.com/articles/61633-vermont-dam-removal-program-reclaims-floodplain
#SolarPunkSunday #RestoreFloodplains #ClimateChange #ExtremeWeather #BuildingForResiliency #FloodplainReclamation
