DAVIDSON

Outdated dam on Richland Creek set for removal

Claudette Riley
The Tennessean
Environmental scientist Adam Spiller stands on the dam that will be removed near the Richland Creek Greenway. He will supervise the work.

An outdated dam that has obstructed the flow of water and fish in Richland Creek since the 1970s will soon be gone.

Deep sediment has built up behind the concrete barrier, causing the upstream water to pool and stagnate and cutting off fish from the rest of the stream.

"Once this is done it's going to create a more natural flow," said Gina Hancock, director of The Nature Conservancy. "The whole thing is to return it to a more natural state."

Work on the $70,000 project will start Wednesday and is expected to wrap up by Halloween. It is the result of a public-private partnership of the Cumberland River Compact, The Nature Conservancy and Metro Parks.

Metro Councilman Jason Holleman, who represents a section of West Nashville that includes the dam, said there has been talk about removing the dam for years. The dam, adjacent to the McCabe Golf Course, is visible from a Richland Creek Greenway bridge.

"A healthy creek means a healthy watershed, which means quality of life is improved and the greenway experience is enhanced," he said.

Project a first in Nashville

Organizers embarked on the project, the first of its kind in Nashville, with the goal of improving water quality and spurring other obsolete urban dams to be removed. Hundreds of the dams exist, and many no longer serve a purpose.

Mekayle Houghton, executive director of the Cumberland River Compact, said the "heavily impacted urban stream" boasts a variety of fish and salamanders.

A second dam removal project is planned this spring along Sevenmile Creek, near the Edmondson Pike Branch library. It is more complicated, however, because the creek is home to the endangered Nashville crayfish.

"We hope to do one a year," she said.

Volunteers walking Richland Creek have identified at least a dozen obstructions, but only one is up for removal at this point. The major obstacles to dam removal include funding, awareness and an unwilling landowner, she said.

The Richland Creek dam removal will be supervised by Adam Spiller, environmental scientist with KCI Technologies. Heavy machinery will break down the concrete and remove debris before new rock and vegetation will be brought in to stabilize the creek bed and bank.

Under a new permit from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, Metro Parks will continue to withdraw up to 10 percent of the creek flow until the creek reaches 4.5 cubic feet per second.

That removal was opposed by the Richland Creek Watershed Alliance.

"We're totally supportive of removing the dam," said Monette Rebecca, executive director of the alliance. "Our only qualm is there being more disturbance to create a pool and continue to remove water for McCabe."

About the work

Cost: $70,000 to remove outdated dam on Richland Creek

Timeline: Work starts Wednesday and is expected to be complete by Halloween

Goal: Improve water quality

Who is behind the work: The Cumberland River Compact, The Nature Conservancy and Metro Parks

Mekayle Houghton, executive director of Cumberland River Compact; District 24 council member Jason Holleman; and Gina Hancock, state director of The Nature Conservancy, walk on the Richland Creek Greenway to put up a sign announcing the removal of the dam.