Village Waterfall Restoration

The Town of Brandon is a community of 4,000 in northern Rutland County, Vermont. The village, a Vermont Designated Downtown, is built around the Neshobe River (tributary of the Otter Creek), which is heavily managed around parkland and downtown business and civic buildings. The most prominent view of the river is at the “Upper Falls” behind Kennedy Park and a small boutique numbered as 31 Center Street. This waterfall is created by a manmade 19th-century stone dam now owned by the Town of Brandon. The dam is in poor condition. [Vermont Dam Inventory ID #146, State ID 26.05, 43.799°N, -73.088°W.] The dam’s impoundment is normally 3 acre feet with a maximum of 8 acre feet. The dam is 15 feet high and 66 feet across. Flood hazard potential is minimal due to the small amount of water impounded and the construction of an overflow relief structure immediately downstream, between #31 and #35 Center Street. The Town’s primary goal is restoring the aesthetic appearance of the waterfall. Deterioration of the dam structure and buildup of vegetation on it have compromised the visual appeal, as the major volume of water no longer cascades uniformly across the top course of the dam. The south end of the dam is now receiving most of the flow and the center and north parts are dry most of the time. The Town envisions three possibilities for this project but is open to other proposals: 1 Remove the dam, leaving whatever ledge naturally occurs there and the river will tumble over some cascades similar to what it does downstream of the bridge between the town office and 4 Conant Square. Some funding from the State of Vermont may be available for this option. 2 Restore the appearance of the waterfall by plugging the two largest holes (on the south end and in the middle), removing vegetation at the north end, and generally evening out the top course so the weir-like full-width waterfall is again the dominant feature 3 Repair the dam functionally by removing silt deposited behind it, plugging all existing holes, removing vegetation, and rebuilding the dam for more-than-aesthetic results Any work performed must be permitted by the State of Vermont and performed within the acceptable seasonal window for river work (1 June - 1 Oct) and subject to conditions of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Rivers Program. Work will fall under the Stream Alteration General Permit (not the Dam Safety Program). It is anticipated that this project will be locally-funded.