SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – The Mount Ascutney Regional Commission (MARC) and Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC), in partnership with the Town of Springfield, have removed an old dam on Valley Street in Springfield, Vt.
The removal of the 14-foot-high by 33-foot-wide concrete structure will improve flood safety, water quality, and fish passage on a tributary of the Black River locally known as Mile Brook. CRC and MARC began working with the Town of Springfield and State of Vermont on this project in 2018, and after eight years of grant writing, engineering design, and permitting, the removal of the old dam was completed in September 2025.
The town originally built the dam in 1938, to create a swimming area, but closed the pool in 1953 due to “contamination and unhygienic conditions.” For the past 72 years the dam was slowly degrading and trapping sediment upstream, resulting in significant water quality impacts.
Funding for design, permitting, and construction was provided by the State of Vermont Ecosystem Restoration Program (ERP), a Dam Removal Design and Implementation Block Grant (DRDIBG) administered by Watersheds United Vermont (WUV) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Fish Passage Program. Local contractors hired for this project include Ripple Natural Resources LLC, of Randolph; Paula Sagerman, a historic preservation consultant based in Brattleboro; and Crown Point Excavation LLC, of Springfield, Vt.