Work on Riverton Dam just days away.
Crews will begin the long-awaited process of demolishing the Riverton Dam on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River next week, town officials said.
Work will start Monday morning with a 10 a.m. presentation regarding efforts to demolish the dam at the clearing above the boat launch area, according to a news release issued by Steven M. Burke, the interim town manager and director of environmental services. The demolition will take about two weeks to finish.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Mayor Timothy W. Darr said. “It’s been a good, quick-moving project, and I’m glad it’s finally coming to fruition.”
The concrete dam was built by the town in 1906 in order to generate hydroelectric power. The facility produced power until it was decommissioned in 1930.
The town was recently awarded grant funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to demolish the dam in an effort to enhance fish passage along the Shenandoah River and increase recreational boating opportunities.
“Resident fish populations will benefit as well as American eel that spawn in the ocean and then must return to freshwater streams as juvenile to grow into adults,” Burke’s news release states.
Plans pertaining to the eventual demolition of the dam have long been in the works. However, the process was expedited in recent months by the Town Council after two drownings earlier this year elevated concerns about the safety of the dam. In April, Mark Grand, 51, of Linden, drowned following a kayaking accident. In June, 9-year old Ryan Warner, of Bunker Hill, W.Va., drowned after he apparently slipped on some rocks and was swept into a large hole on the north end of the dam. The Warren County Sheriff’s Office ruled the boy’s death accidental.
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