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Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 8:12 am
by Troutman
Read a article a few weeks ago about this dam slated for removal. This will open up the river from the Delaware for some native species to go up the Paulingskill. Now with that obstacle out the way. Wonder if the dam near Blairstown will be next ? . You guys feel its good or bad that these dams will come down ?

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 12:31 pm
by lightenup
Always good news when man made objects are removed from rivers in my opinion.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 1:16 pm
by CheeseburgerFly
It probably screws up other stuff, but some of the places I fish in Maryland are tailwater of deep water releases from dams. In my experience, the rivers never get above 62 degrees and the trout fishing puts ours to shame.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 3:22 pm
by lightenup
I am all for natural ecosystems, trout fishing or not.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:09 pm
by Drossi
lightenup wrote:
Wed Aug 08, 2018 3:22 pm
I am all for natural ecosystems, trout fishing or not.
I'm all for trout fishing, natural ecosystems or not! (see Delaware, upper)

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:06 pm
by lightenup
Drossi wrote:
Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:09 pm
lightenup wrote:
Wed Aug 08, 2018 3:22 pm
I am all for natural ecosystems, trout fishing or not.
I'm all for trout fishing, natural ecosystems or not! (see Delaware, upper)
Yes, I am well aware of the benefits to our fishing pleasure....There will be trout around if we restore our rivers to their natural state..which of course will never happen everywhere. That means we will always have the upper D, and the Madison tail water in Montana, and Gunpowder falls area and the such..but personally, and I don't begrudge anyone for disagreeing, it is a great reason for them, I would like to see the dams come down....call me a purist ;)

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 6:08 pm
by BillSmith
Yes the tail waters from dams are a good spot to fish, but what most fail to realize is the miles of water above the dam where the water is a bathtub of hot silted water.
Tear all the dams down for cooler free flowing water. A video was made during the water release just prior to the dam being taken out, I think I counted 46 tires in a small stretch of river on the video, we are planning a clean up.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:04 pm
by barkeater
There are dams where the water is deep and the released water is from the depths and is cold. A good example is the upper West Branch of the Delaware below the Cannonsville dam above Deposit NY where the water stays in the 50's. The dams that are removed by TU and other conservation groups are not like this. They are older dams usually built for power and often obsolete and no longer serving a purpose. These usually are silted in with a shallow depth and warm water therefore. The water in the impoundments and the water spilling over the top is hot and not habitable for cold water species such as trout. They often are a liability to the owner or will become one over time but are too expensive for them to remove and this is where outside money (TU and other conservation organizations) comes into play.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 12:30 pm
by lightenup
Those reservoirs in New York have plenty of silt in them as well....and most silt is toxic in some form or another....dams are good for nothing except an over populated human existence. :twisted:

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:08 pm
by Troutman
My personal opinion is remove all man made dams that do not longer serve a purpose. Bottom release dams are best if thats whats needed for flood control. I fished the U. Delaware when they release water. There is always weed debris flowing @ that time. So that tells me that very little silt build up in those type of dams. Just my opinion of course. Also there is no skill to find fish in a dam area. A 3 year old kid can figure that 1 out. I mean where's the fish gonna go ? They stuck. You can pick them off like fish in a barrel :roll: . If your a real angler you have to look for other structure and pools and such. Thats where the real skill come in. Its all part of the hunt. Not just the catch. Among other things thats involved

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:45 am
by NJAngler
The Paulina Dam just above Blairstown is also set to be removed. The only remaining dam will be Paulinskill Lake Dam. That's not going anywhere - too many private residences. There are numerous smaller dams on tribs but I'm not counting those including one on Pond Brook in Middleville which creates a little pond called Big Swartswood Lake. lol

Quote from NJ.com article:
The DEP said it is working with its partners to remove the Paulina Dam in Blairstown Township, nine miles upstream.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:28 am
by Razorbacker
Question for Rusty Spinner if he sees this.... when these types of dams are removed, is the "lake" area dug out prior to removal to prevent all the crap build-up, silt and otherwise, from washing downstream?

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 12:10 pm
by garden hackle
Razorbacker wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:28 am
Question for Rusty Spinner if he sees this.... when these types of dams are removed, is the "lake" area dug out prior to removal to prevent all the crap build-up, silt and otherwise, from washing downstream?
If the dam was not there all that crap build-up and silt would have washed downstream on its own. The question now is: Is that crap build-up now in sufficient concentration to cause harm downstream?

These people will know the particulars https://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/r ... ke-dam.xml

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 10:37 pm
by Razorbacker
Sue, it would have washed down over a period of 100 years! Not concentrated as you mention...

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 12:08 pm
by lightenup
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/v ... ction=view

Depends how the dam is removed I guess...

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 5:17 pm
by Razorbacker
Holy crap!! Yeah, I'm thinking that would have killed everything downstream for miles :( . Hopefully, our State folks are smarter than that....

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Sat Aug 11, 2018 7:15 pm
by barkeater
Rusty could answer the question of sediment removal far better than I can but from hearing him talk multiple times I can say this. On another possible future removal, where the dam is of significant height(33feet) and the impoundment is all silted in to the depth of a few feet, he talked about removing the sediment as they removed the height of the dam a few feet at a time. Dig, reduce height, did, reduce height and so on. This would minimize downstream contamination. I don't know if this is done on all removals where there is sediment build up.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 3:39 pm
by Rusty Spinner
I have not read the bathymetry study for the Columbia Lake Dam removal, but I do know much of the sediment will be dealt with in place and some will knowingly run into the Delaware River as the dam is only about 1,500' upstream of the big D. I know this summer's normal low water is anything but, and I'm sure that will delay the removal here and there, but that is all part of river work.

Just so others know, NJ Division of Dam Safety & Flood Control is very careful in this state when it comes to sediment releases during dam removals. More so than most other states, but not all other states. We typically lack the flows and gradient to flush huge amounts of sediment out like we sometimes see with a big Western dam removal where they "blow and go". We also have too many people and infrastructure to allow for those types of removals in our floodplains. I was away all of last week in a freshwater mussel conservation biology course at Camp Fed and never got on GST.

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:42 pm
by Dave B.
NJAngler wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:45 am
The Paulina Dam just above Blairstown is also set to be removed. The only remaining dam will be Paulinskill Lake Dam. That's not going anywhere - too many private residences. There are numerous smaller dams on tribs but I'm not counting those including one on Pond Brook in Middleville which creates a little pond called Big Swartswood Lake. lol

Quote from NJ.com article:
The DEP said it is working with its partners to remove the Paulina Dam in Blairstown Township, nine miles upstream.
I've been waiting a looong time for Paulina to get scrapped! Any word on the progress with funding?

Re: Columbia Dam removal

Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2018 12:00 pm
by Rusty Spinner
Dave B. wrote:
Mon Aug 20, 2018 10:42 pm
NJAngler wrote:
Fri Aug 10, 2018 8:45 am
The Paulina Dam just above Blairstown is also set to be removed. The only remaining dam will be Paulinskill Lake Dam. That's not going anywhere - too many private residences. There are numerous smaller dams on tribs but I'm not counting those including one on Pond Brook in Middleville which creates a little pond called Big Swartswood Lake. lol

Quote from NJ.com article:
The DEP said it is working with its partners to remove the Paulina Dam in Blairstown Township, nine miles upstream.
I've been waiting a looong time for Paulina to get scrapped! Any word on the progress with funding?
Just that funding continues to be an issue. That typically changes once the dam below it is removed as is the case with Columbia Lake dam. Hopefully that gets more $$ flowing upstream to Paulina dam.