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\t\t\tThe Bridge Street dam on the Royal River in Yarmouth in 2017. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Bridge Street dam on the Royal River in Yarmouth in 2017. (Derek Davis\/Staff Photographer)<\/p>\n
After lengthy delays, the flow of the Royal River is slated to change.<\/p>\n
Over 20 years after the state made the Royal River a restoration priority, and one year after Yarmouth approved the project, the removal of a trio of town-owned dams in the Royal River will begin this summer thanks to a $1 million grant.<\/p>\n
Proponents say removing the dams will improve the river ecosystem and increase fish passage. On Jan. 7, the Maine Natural Resources Conservation Program approved $1 million toward the project. The grant does not cover the entire project cost \u2014 currently estimated around $3.8 million \u2014 but will pay for the start of the removal of the Bridge Street Dam and fishway over the summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo work on something for seven years and move ahead in such small increments, and then to finally have some good news and some funding \u2014 we are thrilled,\u201d said Yarmouth resident Deborah Landry, who has been a member of the Royal River Alliance Board since 2018.<\/p>\n
FUNDING STREAMS<\/p>\n
The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment and the Maine State Planning Office identified the river as a restoration priority in 2005.<\/p>\n
In 2009, Yarmouth commissioned an engineering study to determine the most cost-effective ways to restore native species and fish access to the Royal River. The engineering firm recommended that the lowest-cost long-term solution was to take out the dams.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has been a long time coming, and we\u2019re standing on the shoulders of a lot of people who came before me to see this project finally happen. What we\u2019re going to see is a healthier river,\u201d said Yarmouth Town Council Chair Karin Orenstein.<\/p>\n
After a series of more recent studies and public discussions, the Yarmouth Town Council approved the dam removal project<\/a> in January 2025. Of the estimated cost of the project, $5.7 million at the time according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, $2 million would have been the responsibility of the town. The resolution<\/a> prohibited Yarmouth taxpayer funds form being used to finance the approved work of the project, instead authorizing the town to secure funding from external sources, such as nonprofits and state and federal agencies. Taxpayer funds may be used for related projects, such as river safety signage or insurance for local businesses that may be impacted by construction.<\/p>\n In the year since, the town\u2019s effort to secure funding faced hurdles, including the government shutdowns, conflicting approaches and unanswered requests.<\/p>\n In September, the Army Corps gave Yarmouth its final report<\/a> on the restoration study of the Royal River, which included a preliminary design for the removal of two dams. The design conflicted in two ways with what the town had identified as its preferred approach to the river\u2019s restoration.<\/p>\n Instead of fully removing the East Elm Street Dam, the report recommended a partial removal. Secondly, the Army Corps recommended a 40-foot diversion at Middle Falls to push water into the channel behind Factory Island, an approach that would require more expensive maintenance from the town and block whitewater paddlers.<\/p>\n Using donated funds and a drone, engineers determined for the town that chipping bedrock in key locations along the riverbed would be a lower-impact and less expensive solution long-term.<\/p>\n The Army Corps also did not have the funding to offer Yarmouth a contract for the final design and implementation of the work. And critically, the agency did not initially inform Yarmouth of what share of the $5.4 million the town would have to cover \u2014 between 15% and 35%, a difference of over $1 million.<\/p>\n The lack of consensus prompted the town to proceed with the project without the Army Corps, Orenstein said. This allowed the town to apply for grants that went beyond the scope of the Army Corps\u2019 plan, including replacing a dry hydrant in North Yarmouth, repairing the historic overlook at Grist Mill Park, repairing stone walls that support homes abutting the dams and constructing two boat launches.<\/p>\n \u201cSo we\u2019re looking at it holistically, at the infrastructure surrounding the work, not just the work itself, which is what the Army Corps would do,\u201d Orenstein said.<\/p>\n Moving forward sans Army Corps, Yarmouth needs $3.8 million in total for the project. That lower cost is reduced due to changes from what the Army Corps planned and the sizable overhead it charged for its work, Orenstein said.<\/p>\n Earlier last year, Yarmouth submitted a $3.8 million grant proposal to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Despite expecting to hear back about the grant by July 2025, Yarmouth has not yet received a decision. If the grant were to come through now, it would cover what now remains of the project\u2019s costs.<\/p>\n In the meantime, Yarmouth and its partners continue pursuing other funding.<\/p>\n
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<\/a>The falls on the Royal River in Yarmouth, which are now named Pumgustuck, a Wabanaki name. (Courtesy of Nick Ressel)<\/p>\n