The Winooski Natural Resources Conservation District has been working for years to remove the Hands Mill Dam in Washington which was classified as a Significant Hazard potential dam. Dam Safety reports indicated that a sudden failure could cause “probable loss of life and property damage.” Additionally, the Hands Mill Dam impounded a segment of the Jail Branch, a tributary to the Winooski River, preventing the passage of Brook Trout.
Winooski NRCD partnered with the Town of Washington, US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Vermont Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation to design the dam removal, stream bed and bank remediation, floodplain and wetland restoration, and historical documentation. The final design was completed in 2021, but a 2023 flood event caused the dam to fail and a need for the removal to be redesigned. It was identified that work needed to be completed upstream of the dam to repair the channel and floodplain for hazard mitigation, aquatic organism passage, stream equilibrium, and water quality.
In August 2024 Hilltop Construction began removing the dam and repairing the channel and floodplain. The construction portion of the project was completed in October. When visiting the area you can now see the river flowing through a freshly planted field. However, the project is not yet completed, this Fall and next Spring, Redstart has been contracted to plan and execute tree plantings in the restored floodplain. This project illustrates the years-long process that conservation district projects can take to improve the places we love in Vermont. Funding came through the Vermont Department of Public Safety Flood Resilient Communities Fund.
Photo: Hilltop Construction removing the dam and repairing the channel and floodplain. Photo by Dan at Winooski NRCD.