July marked the beginning of the long-anticipated deconstruction of New Jersey\u2019s 109-year-old Columbia Lake Dam. Located upstream from the mouth of the Paulins Kill, a 40-mile tributary of the Delaware River, the dam has not been used for power generation since 2016. Once completed, the months long, roughly $8 million dam removal project will help restore the Paulins Kill to health.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe water quality will be improved,\u201d predicts Montclair State Earth and Environmental Studies Professor Joshua Galster, who is measuring the impact of the dam\u2019s removal on the Paulins Kill ecosystem. \u201cFish passage and habitat will be improved. The dam is about a quarter mile upstream from where the Paulins Kill meets the Delaware, so we hope fish like shad will swim upstream once the dam is removed and the river is restored.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a special kind of satisfaction to know that after more than 100 years and $8 million, American shad will no longer bump their noses on the Columbia Dam when they return to spawn and that people will have a cleaner, healthier waterway for recreation,\u201d says Barbara Brummer \u201968, The Nature Conservancy\u2019s New Jersey State Director and Montclair State College of Science and Mathematics Advisory Board Chair. \u201cThe Nature Conservancy is pleased to have been a leader of many partners \u2013 including Montclair State University \u2013 on this project to improve the water quality in the Paulins Kill and reopen a 10-mile stretch of river to kayakers, anglers and migratory fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galster welcomes the opportunity be part of the dam removal project that involves The Nature Conservancy, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and others. \u201cI\u2019m only one part of the story,\u201d says Galster. Montclair State Sustainability Science major Carolina Lemanski is currently working with him on the project, which he hopes will extend through next year and engage additional student researchers.<\/p>\n
Galster and Lemanski are mapping the depth of the Paulins Kill riverbed along six river cross sections located between the dam and the Delaware River. They will ultimately compare measurements taken before and after the removal of the dam to assess changes in river depth. \u201cWe\u2019re looking to see if there is change \u2013 either erosion or deposition \u2013 during different stages of the dam removal process,\u201d Galster explains.<\/p>\n
\u201cI expect the river will deepen due to increased sediment transport,\u201d says Lemanski. \u201cThe biggest ecological benefit would be the restoration of habitat connectivity for migratory fish.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMontclair State strongly encourages experiential learning activities, such as the monitoring of the Columbia Lake Dam removal project, for its students,\u201d says College of Science and Mathematics Dean Lora Billings. \u201cAs we provide a service to our New Jersey community, the project provides students like Carolina with practical experience that sharpens their skills as they prepare to join the STEM workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Billings, the researchers\u2019 work could also have potentially far-reaching implications. \u201cTheir expert analysis may provide the scientific basis for decisions about future dam removals.\u201d<\/p>\n