RNRCD and Partners Complete Cold River Restoration and Flood Resilience Projects in Shrewsbury

RUTLAND, V.T. – The Cold River is flowing freely again following the completion of three connected restoration and flood resilience projects in Shrewsbury. The Rutland Natural Resources Conservation District (RNRCD), alongside local and regional partners, has completed the removal of the Mountain School Dam and replacement of two downstream culverts at Mountain School Road and Northam Road, improving river connectivity and strengthening critical town infrastructure against future flooding.

Construction began in July and was completed in mid-October.

Mountain School Dam obstructed approximately a quarter mile of the Cold River. Originally built to impound water for fire suppression, the dam was no longer needed for that purpose and had developed cracking and seeping over time. The two downstream culverts were undersized and perched, blocking aquatic organism passage and contributing to downstream scouring and erosion.

The dam and undersized culverts contributed to the overtopping and washing out of downstream Mountain School Rd and Northam Rd during Tropical Storm Irene in 2011, as well as overtopping and damage during the July 2023 flood. These roads provide access to the Town Garage and Shrewsbury Mountain School, the local emergency shelter, making their resilience particularly important to the community. The repeated flood impacts highlighted the importance of addressing all three structures, each of which was identified in the Town’s hazard mitigation plan.

 

The projects began with Shrewsbury Town Highway Department constructing a temporary access road to the Town Garage and Shrewsbury Mountain School. Markwoski Excavating, Inc. then completed the dam removal and Mountain School Road culvert replacement. Utilizing bypass flows and erosion controls, the crew removed the once 7-foot-high, 53.5-foot-long dam, drained the former impoundment, and excavated accumulated sediment.

Crews created a pilot channel and replaced the undersized corrugated culvert at Mountain School Road with a larger aluminum arch culvert supported by steel-reinforced concrete foundations. Trees removed during construction were repurposed along the stream and in the floodplain to provide habitat structure and help control erosion.

Neil H. Daniels Inc. replaced the undersized corrugated culvert at Northam Road with a larger concrete box culvert. Following construction, disturbed floodplains and streambanks were seeded and mulched, and the former pond area was replanted with native shrubs and trees.

 “With the Mountain School Road project and these infrastructure upgrades to both culverts and stream channel, the town has become more flood resilient and better protected against future events” commented Dan Cavoto, Shrewsbury Town Road Commissioner.

With the dam removed, the Cold River will begin adjusting to its restored flow and sediment regime and finding a new equilibrium. RNRCD and its partners will continue monitoring the project sites as the river adjusts to flowing freely.

“Restoring connectivity of ecosystems and wildlife paths of travel is a top priority of the Shrewsbury Conservation Commission. We are excited to see which species return and thrive in this newly restored segment of the Cold River head waters. We thank the RNRCD and its partners for the tremendous job they did completing this complex project. We look forward to working with them again in the future on other projects that similarly restore and enhance fragile and valuable ecosystems throughout Shrewsbury,” said a representative of the Shrewsbury Conservation Commission.

RNRCD thanks the project’s engineering firms Stone Environmental and MSK and the construction firms Markowski Excavating, Inc. and Neil H. Daniels Inc. RNRCD also thanks project partners Vermont Natural Resources Council, Trout Unlimited, and US Fish and Wildlife, as well as landowners Michaela and Nick Greene, the Shrewsbury Highway Department, the Shrewsbury Mountain School faculty, and the Town of Shrewsbury and its residents for their patience and support throughout the project.

Funding for the projects were provided by the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation Clean Water Initiative Program through grants administered by Vermont’s Natural Resources Conservation Council and Watershed United Vermont, the United States Environmental Protection Agency under assistance agreement (BIL 4N0A001022-1) to NEIWPCC in partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin, the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Trout Unlimited.

For questions, concerns, or comments, please contact Katie Stiles, District Manager at RNRCD at katie@rnrcd.org.