That Dam Loop Hole

That Dam Loop Hole…

The past week at T’ville gorge in Connecticut some pretty radical changes happened on the Farmington River! The broken dam that has been there for over 100 years is being removed as I write this. It’s wild to think that this “immoveable” part of the river is actually being taken out until you see it happening. (Several such projects in the US have been going on for a while now on rivers like the Rogue in Oregon to help the native fish do their thing, and the opposite seems to be happening in the developing world in places like Uganda where the new Silverback dam was recently completed.) The former broken dam is now a pile of rubble. The fish should be a lot happier and we are hoping that this dam removal will in fact create more playing opportunities on this section of the river. So far, we seem to be in luck.

On Sunday, I paddled down with my good friends Dave and Paula Saaf and my cousin Annie Chester to check it out. During last week, the construction crews were out in force jack hammering the dam so there was no paddling through but the weekend let us have a up close opportunity to check out the new rapid. Guess what?? There is an awesome new hole in the former dam rapid. It is fast and deep, and has eddy access! Now, we are all hoping that as more of the dam gets removed, this great new feature stays put or gets better!! It certainly opens up all kinds of new play opportunities on the mighty Farmington. We will know more once the dam removal is completed in August, but in the meantime, there is a great new feature to enjoy – on the weekends and after hours!