Manchester's Maxwell Pond Dam Torn Down, Water Improved

Crews tear down the dam's spillway. (Courtesy Steve Landry, Department of Environmental Services)

Nat sound…11 3:26 sound and under

Construction crews are removing the last remnants of the Maxwell Pond dam in northwest Manchester.
Nats

The dam was constructed along the Black Brook in 1900, creating a pond for the sole purpose of harvesting ice.

That was back when the waters were crystal clear and people would picnic by its shore.

Steve Landry, with New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services, says over the years the almost eight acre pond has become an illegal dumping ground.

He’s seen old refrigerators, gas grills and recently, an upright vacuum cleaner, pulled out of the pond.

6:24 we pulled out something like 44 tires 33 bags of garbage, a treadmill, various things you wouldn’t expect to see in a pond in New Hampshire”

The dam has caused sediment to collect behind it, reducing the pond’s depth from 10 feet to just three.

The shallow water raises the temperature, causing bacteria and algae growth, which then depletes the oxygen needed for fish to survive.

That’s one of the reason’s fisheries biologist Eric Hutchins, with the National Marine Fisheries Service, is providing federal grants for this project.

1:20 removing this dam opened up I believe in the range of seven to eight miles of potential habitat for a number of species that we either manage or have stewardship over.

Hutchins says the small brook has the potential to bring back the Atlantic Salmon, the American eel and the blueback herring…migratory fish that need to reach fresh water to spawn.

12:45 the fish that could potentially use black brook could migrate anywhere from the Carolinas to the arctic circle of Greenland, that is where the fish migrate to..so they actually have international scale benefits.

American Rivers, an organization dedicated to making rivers healthier, also gave money for the dam removal project.

:28 There’s no river that’s too little and little dams have big impact.

That’s Serena Mclean with American Rivers.

She says aquatic life couldn’t survive in the pond…and that put it on a list of impaired waters that violate the Clean water act.

5:34 Once it gets on the list the state has to figure out a way to remedy the situation, how can they get it off the impaired waters list and make the water cleaner..

But the impetus to remove the dam and improve the water quality didn’t come until the aging dam became a serious safety problem during the Mother’s Day floods of 2006.

DES ordered Manchester to either fix the dam or remove it.

Chuck DePrima is with Manchester’s Parks Department.

Chuck1 the decision was made at that time to remove it, since we could as a city spend very little money to leverage quite a bit of federal grants and the added benefit was we were doing the environmentally responsible thing.

Deprima says the city is now working with a consultant to come up with plans for a new park and trail system around the brook.

(nat sound)

As the spillway comes down…and water once again flows over bedrock…Steve Landry with DES watches.

He says oxygen is already being restored to the pond and Black Brook.

As he looks down…a small brown furry creature..most likely a mink… comes scrambling up the brook.

15 :12 it’s a mink or an otter..this could be the first creature to pass black brook since 1900, look at this this is amazing..he’s motoring look at that he did it..that’s history right there.

For NHPR news, I’m Amy Quinton.