COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Researchers are studying two Ohio rivers to learn more about the effects on
waterways of removing dams.
A
team of researchers at Ohio State University are testing and monitoring
sections of the Olentangy and Scioto Rivers in the Columbus area where
two dams came down last year, The Columbus Dispatch
(http://bit.ly/QLQPTA) reported.
Dams have backed up waterways’
natural flow for decades, and scientists know that they adversely affect
rivers and their surrounding habitat. Fish and sediment can’t flow back
upstream, and dams choke off fish and mussels and the insects that
provide food for many fish species. Even birds and mammals are forced to
change their behaviors. But scientists are still trying to determine
the effects of removing dams.
"It’s a pretty new science," said
Mazeika Sullivan, an assistant professor of aquatic-riparian ecology in
OSU’s School of Environment and Natural Resources.
But two dams
that came down last year — one on the Olentangy near Ohio State and one
on the Scioto near downtown Columbus — are opening up new research
opportunities.
"We’re hoping that the data collected on this
project will help us estimate the impact of future dam removal in other
parts of the state," said Ken Heigel, chief engineer for the Ohio Water
Development Authority that is helping fund the research.
Ohio has more than 4,000 dams, with most being low-head dams — structures designed to recreate a pool or
lake of water.
But some have been torn down in recent years, including four along the Olentangy in Delaware County north
of Columbus.
Officials
and wildlife experts said the silver shiner, stonecat madtom, banded
darter and brindled madtom are among the fish species that reappeared
where one dam was removed in 2008. The endangered purple wartyback
mussel was found downstream from where another dam had stood.
The study involves collecting data before and after a dam’s removal.
Researchers
and graduate students plunged poles loaded with sensors into the river
near the university’s Ohio Stadium last week and team members measure
depth, temperature and flow speed. They also use traps to collect
insects, and birdhouses that allow researchers to see whether swallows
are finding their food on land or on the river.
"I am really
curious to see the sorts of things they’re going to find," said Alice
Waldhauer, watershed coordinator for the advocacy group Friends of the
Lower Olentangy Watershed.
The study is funded by grants of more
than $600,000 from the Ohio Water Development Authority, the National
Institutes for Water Resources and the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources.
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Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com
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