WESTMINSTER, Vt. (WCAX) – Windham County is working to give fish access to more headwaters, but it has other implications, too.

The Saxtons River is being redesigned. Work is underway to remove a dam in Westminster.

“We’re here today because there’s a dam on this river about 900 feet upstream from the Connecticut River that’s blocking fish passage,” said Will Eldridge of Vt. Fish and Wildlife. “As a result, fish returning from the Connecticut River can no longer make it here. So we’re removing that dam to allow those fish access to those headwaters.”

In particular, sea lampreys come to these waters to spawn, as we already pointed out earlier this year.

“They spawn in this habitat type, they die and the juveniles grow in the sandy bottom for several years. During this time they are not parasites. They feed on the detritus that is transported downstream,” said Lael Will, a fisheries biologist.

This is an advancement that involves multiple local, state and federal partners working together.

“We’re not going to maintain these dams anymore. This dam is actually a hazard; it has exposed rebar and metal and other things that make it unsafe. But it’s also an opportunity. We’re looking at these opportunities especially to help non-game species that people may not have heard of,” Eldridge said.

According to officials, this reduction will also have a positive impact on flood resilience.

“If they’re not designed for flood control, they can make flooding worse because they can dam up the water and cause flooding upstream. The other risk that we unfortunately learned last year is that dams, if not maintained, can fail in a flood and actually cause disruption or destruction downstream. And that’s why we want to try that. And that’s why we prefer controlled dam removal to this uncontrolled, who knows what’s going to happen,” Eldridge said.

“These areas are prone to flooding because of the amount of sediment left in our rivers. By removing the dam, we can lower the flood level by seven feet. That gives the next storm more room,” said Ron Rhodes of the Connecticut River Conservancy.

This project will take several weeks to complete, but eventually it will be open to the public and will benefit both fish and people.

“Ultimately, we hope or expect that it will actually look like a natural river,” Eldridge said.

“When we’re done, the Vermont River Conservancy will come and do a public access project. So it will be a nice trail with steps and parking. Public access will be much better,” Rhodes said.

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