Columbia Lake Dam Removal
LOCATION: Paulins Kill River, Knowlton Township, Warren County
BACKGROUND: The Columbia Lake Dam on the Paulins Kill (NJ’s third largest tributary to the Delaware River) was built by the Jersey Central Power and Light Company in 1909 and was approximately 18 feet high and 330 feet long and was located less than one quarter mile upstream from the confluence of the Paulins Kill and the Delaware River. The State of New Jersey owns both the dam site and the 1098 surrounding acres which are managed by the NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife as the Columbia Wildlife Management Area. The dam was previously used to generate hydropower, but the lessee recently surrendered the FERC operating license.
PURPOSE: To provide safe fish passage and improve habitat by reconnecting 11 miles of the Paulins Kill’s mainstem and 20 miles of river and stream habitat including connected tributaries.
SUMMARY: Since the dam created a 32-acre impoundment, it affected the river more than 1.5 miles upstream of the dam and blocked access to many miles of historic spawning and nursery habitat for important migratory fish species such as American Shad, Blueback herring, American eel, and Sea Lamprey. These species had been documented in areas downstream of the dam, and restoring access to upstream habitat in the Paulins Kill restored the historic spawning runs of both shad and river herring. Removal of the dam had significant ecological benefits and also alleviated DEP of the significant liability and future maintenance costs. The removal was managed by the Nature Conservancy. ONRR partnered with the USF&WS to contribute $3.6 million of joint Natural Resource Damage Funds towards the removal costs.
PARTNERS: The Nature Conservancy, American Rivers, USF&WS, DEP Division of Fish and Wildlife.
SCHEDULE: Removal and restoration were completed in 2018
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