(Danville) — The city Monday put out bids for a project to remove the Long Mill Dam.
City Council voted 6-to-3 in 2022 to remove the 129-year old structure. It’s a low head dam. It’s a five-foot high, 1,150 foot wide low head dam built back in 1894 by Dan River Mills to power units on both sides of the Dan River.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), “A low head dam is a manufactured structure, built in a river or stream channel, extending fully across the banks. A low head dam is designed and built such that water flows continuously over the crest from bank to bank. If water levels rise downstream, a submerged hydraulic jump can form which produces an upstream directed current that traps any recreationist who might go over the dam.”
Low head dams have been cited as a factor in several recent deaths in the region. The dam near the former Brantley Steam plant was removed in 2011 after five-year old Kolton Karnes drowned when he fell out of a fishing boat.
Five people died in 2021 when they went tubing over a low head dam at the Duke Power facility near Eden, North Carolina. Four more were hurt.
In August 2020 an adult was killed and another hurt when their canoe went over the Long Mill Dam and overturned.
There’s been discussions about removal of the Long Mill dam for a decade, but some wanted to keep it for the aesthetics it provides near the Danville Family YMCA. They also worried what removal would do to water levels.
Staffers say after removal, this part of the River would look similar to a section downstream with large rocky features above the waterline. In a report to City Council, staffers quoted the Nature Conservancy. “Removing obsolete or derelict dams gives rivers more access to natural features—like floodplains, wetlands, side channels and marshes—which can help: improve water quality; support healthier, native plant communities; enhance fish and wildlife habitat; create or enhance recreational opportunities; recharge important aquifers; and, in cases, reduce flood risks for communities.”
Staffers also say removal will reduce the flood plain on nearby land. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries says it will open up access to natural features which can improve water quality; enhance fish and wildlife; create recreational opportunities; and reduce flood risks.
The Union Street Dam is not under consideration for removal. That will be needed to control water volume for any white water feature that is developed along the soon-to-be-renovated White Mill.
Supporters of the idea said the dam would prevent them from getting permits approved for recreation projects that are being planned near the Riverfront Park that is being developed, along with the $84 million Dan River Falls project.
Earlier this year, Council voted to apply for a matching grant of a half-million dollars through the Virginia Dam Safety, Flood Prevention and Protection Assistance Fund. The estimated cost of removal is around a million dollars.