Reimagining Failing Infrastructure: Transforming Urban Waterways into Recreational and Economic Assets
Riley Adams, EI, CFM
S2O Design – Calibre Engineering
Highlands Ranch, CO
Waterfront revitalization projects centered on low-head dam removal or modification remain a steady trend for municipalities eager to address the lingering impacts of an industrial past. These initiatives often tackle pressing environmental, ecological, and community safety challenges while aiming for ambitious goals like safe boat access, fish passage, and upstream water level management. However, communities now expect more than conventional features like bike paths, playgrounds, and sitting areas. A growing strategy to meet these elevated expectations is incorporating whitewater recreation into broader waterway improvement plans. With paddlesports surging in popularity nationwide, this approach not only deepens the community’s connection to the river and enhances quality of life but also provides an economic boost that many regions desperately need.
In places like Great Falls SC, Pueblo CO, Clearfield PA, Columbus IN, and Anoka MN community leaders and operators have re-envisioned low-head dams as whitewater recreation sites cleverly integrated into broader strategies for converting local waterways into public amenities, without adversely affecting water levels above and below current project sites and regulatory base flood elevations.
While complete dam removal is often the best solution, it does not work in every location. Often in urban settings, upstream properties and adjacent businesses require some control of water levels, so an engineered solution to stabilize channel grade following dam removal is necessary.
This presentation explores the burgeoning initiative of low-head dam removal and modification, highlighting projects that transform these structures and or their host waterways into community recreational assets. Attendees will gain insights into new approaches to dam removal and modification that strike a balance between creating a river recreation space and improving river ecology and navigability while benefiting the environment and providing beneficial public uses.
Aided by advances in 3D hydraulic modeling, we have a new understanding of river dynamics, including more precise and comprehensive simulations of water flow, recreational wave size, shape and performance, sediment transport, fish passage criteria and other ecological interactions. This results in improved confidence in design and reduced risk.
Through such initiatives, communities can provide enriched recreational opportunities while also leveraging distressed hydroelectric infrastructure to boost economic competitiveness, environmental stewardship, and community goodwill.
About Riley Adams
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