There are 5,736 state-regulated dams in New York State. Most of these dams were built prior to 1970. Like other infrastructure, as dams age, they require maintenance in order to maintain their structural integrity. The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) Dam Safety Program maps, assigns hazard ratings, and conducts inspections on New York’s dams. As communities and independent dam owners confront the challenge of aging dams, there are many unique considerations for how to deal with individual dams. Dam removal can facilitate migratory fish passage, restore the dam and impoundment area to natural stream conditions, and eliminate a community hazard if the dam is compromised. Maintaining dams can be important for communities in some cases in order to retain an impoundment that is a community asset or maintain a historically or symbolically important community structure. Both options come with important price and funding considerations too.
On August 28th the Tug Hill Commission facilitated an information meeting at the Village of Mexico office, focused on sharing information surrounding the dams in the Little Salmon River Watershed. The meeting was meant to be a forum for municipalities and other interested entities and residents to learn about resources that are available through New York State and other organizations, and to be able to provide input. Presentations from the meeting can be found below.
The Village of Mexico owns the Little Salmon Dam, located next to the village office, on Main Street/Route 104. The dam breached in the past and is out of compliance with DEC’s dam safety standards. The dam is unable to be repaired in a way that would meet DEC dam safety regulations, necessitating its eventual replacement or removal. Replacement would be an excessive cost for village residents, with little or no opportunity for outside grant funding. The village has decided to pursue dam removal. Currently, the village has partnered with the Engineers Without Borders Club at Syracuse University to create a professionally engineered dam removal design. They will work in cooperation with NYS DEC, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Cornell Water Resources Institute, and Great Lakes Fisheries Commission, and the NYS Tug Hill Commission.
Please direct any questions, comments, or concerns to Gabriel Yerdon at [email protected], 315-785-2387.
Little Salmon Dam in the Village of Mexico. Photo by NYS Tug Hill Commission.
Also in the Village of Mexico are the Ames Mill dam, owned by the Syra Canadian Club, on the Little Salmon River, and the Youngs Mill dam on Black Creek. The Youngs Mill dam is owned by the Mexico School District and was removed this summer. The dam was replaced with a sea lamprey barrier, and a series of step pools to facilitate fish passage. Despite dry conditions this fall, salmon traversed the former dam for the first time in many decades this year!
The Syra Canadian Club is collaborating with the Syracuse University Engineers Without Borders Club to explore dam remediation design options.
Youngs Mill Dam Pre-remediation. Photo courtesy of NYS DEC.
Youngs Mill Dam Post-remediation. Photo by NYS Tug Hill Commission.
Presentations
Oswego County Dam Overview – NYS DEC
Dam Safety in the Northeast & Great Lakes – NY Sea Grant
Ecological Monitoring Surrounding Barrier Sites in the Village of Mexico – Cornell University, New York State Water Resources Institute
Upstream Transition Following Dam Removal Example
Funding for Watershed Resiliency Options – NYS DEC, Cornell Water Resources Institute
Additional Information and Resources
DECinfo Locator (ny.gov) – Interactive map showing dam locations and hazard classifications
Dam Safety – NYSDEC – DEC’s Dam Safety Program
Review of Potential Dam Removal and Mitigation Opportunities in New York’s Great Lakes Basin
Dam Removal Funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act