OpportunityTitle: Hyde Pond and Pond Lilly Dam Removal, CT -- Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief
CategoryExplanation: Hurricane Sandy Disaster Relief
Description: This is an announcement for issuing a single source financial assistance award to Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Inc. (CFE), Save the Sound Habitat Restoration Program. This announcement is for notification purposes only. The intent of the award is to restore connectivity, enhance fish passage and reduce the risk of flooding during future storm events at two dams in Connecticut. The first dam is the Pond Lily Dam on the West River in New Haven, CT. The initial design and permitting phases of this project have been completed and this funding will be used for the dam removal construction fees and project management, coordination and oversight. The second dam is the Hyde Pond Dam on Whitford Brook in Mystic, CT. This funding will support contracting for design, permitting and dam removal activities. This award is issued to provide financial assistance to collaboratively-developed priority projects in Hurricane Sandy disaster areas that will restore environmental resources and reduce flood hazards through collaborative efforts with local communities. The project is expected to improve flood resiliency, restore ecosystem function, provide fish and wildlife habitat, provide fish passage, reduce potential flood damage, and increase public safety. Flood resiliency will be obtained in three ways. First, by removing two aging, obsolete dams, we remove the risk of catastrophic dam failure and the potential for the uncontrolled, unanticipated, and the very powerful release of impounded water and sediment that would cause damage and disruption downstream. Secondly, by removing the dams, we reduce the extent of upstream inundation and thus the potential for high flows to circumvent the dam. Much damage to physical structures and ecological functions can occur if a stream finds its way around a dam, digging out new channels, depositing materials in unforeseen locations and trapping water in locations away from the stream channel. Thirdly, by removing the dams, we can recreate a functioning stream channel with the appropriate energy balance of flow capacity and sediment transport. A correctly restored stream channel will recreate conditions for the stream to effectively move sediment and water at multiple flow volumes while maintaining a stable channel form. The restored stream channel allows the flows to dissipate flood energy through riffle, pools, channel roughness and access to floodplains. Ecosystem function will be restored by restoring the natural stream channel and floodplain functions. Variations in stream form (e.g., riffle, pools, runs, glides, rock clusters, streambed complexity and materials) along with restored riparian habitat and travel corridors will provide additional fish and wildlife habitat in terms of cover, food (e.g., micro-invertebrates and macro-invertebrates), migration corridors and spawning habitats. By providing fish and wildlife with improved conditions and additional habitat options we mitigate the impacts of climate change. Most importantly allowing the stream access to the floodplain gives the stream a place to dissipate energy which reduces downstream flood forces and impacts. When a stream is restored to appropriate form and function, the stream is resilient and energy is dissipated and communities are safer. Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Inc., is the recipient of this award due to their unique qualification to complete the project. This project is authorized by the Disaster Relief Appropriations Act of 2013, Public Law 113-2.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: arnold_zinan@fws.gov
GrantorContactText: Arnold Zinan, 413 253 8528&lt;br/&gt;arnold_zinan@fws.gov&lt;br/&gt;