Armstrong Ford Road dam could be removed
Gaston County and two local municipalities are helping to fund a study that will determine whether a dam on the South Fork River can be removed.
The study, which will be conducted by Wildlands Engineering, an engineering firm in Charlotte, will look at the impact of removing the Armstrong Ford Road low head dam, said Brandon Jones, a riverkeeper at the Catawba Riverkeeper Foundation.
Engineers want to find out what will happen to the discharge from a nearby wastewater treatment plant if the dam is removed, as well as what the dam's removal would do to a bridge that is downstream. They also must do sediment analysis to be sure that the removal of the dam won't release contaminants into Lake Wylie.
"There's a long history of textile industry on the South Fork River. And, historically, it was even named the rainbow river from all the different dyes, different discharges from the textile facilities," Jones said. "And some of those discharges and pollution could have potentially fallen out in the soils, and it could be sitting there behind the dam and so we certainly don't want to release that."
Catawba Riverkeeper just received itsr final piece of funding for the $40,000 study last week. Gaston County, Belmont, and Cramerton each spent $10,000 on it, while Wildlands Engineering and Catawba Riverkeeper each contributed $5,000.
"We expect that wildlands will start this hopefully in September, but if not, definitely in October," Jones said. "Depending on what they find, it'll be a 60 to 90 day process."
The dam could be removed for several reasons. It was built by N.C. DOT in 1926 so that Stuart Cramer, a wealthy manufacturer for whom Cramerton was named, could ride his yacht around, Jones said.
It does not currently serve any environmental purpose and is preventing the natural passage of fish and other aquatic species.
"It's a barrier, and so it's dividing up habitat," Jones said.
The second reason it could be removed has to do with recreation. Removing the dam would allow kayakers to paddle further on the South Fork River, and could potentially allow motorboats onto the river.
Thirdly, the dam is holding back water and creating a small reservoir. Removing it would create more space in the water, which should help prevent future flooding, Jones said.
Low head dams, sometimes referred to as "drowning machines," are also dangerous.
This type of dam creates circular current that can suck people under water repeatedly, drowning them.
Depending on the results of the study, the dam could be removed in full or in part, and funding would likely come from multiple sources.
"It would likely be a large coalition of different funding to get this thing done," Jones said.
Reporter Kara Fohner can be reached at 704-869-1850 or at kfohner@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing here.
This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Armstrong Ford Road dam in Belmont could be removed
