Balm Grove Dam Removal

Project Description

Gales Creek offers some of the best fish habitat in Washington County. Thirteen miles upstream from its confluence with the Tualatin River, however, an obsolete dam has altered flows and impeded fish passage since the 1930s. The 30-foot thick, 100-foot wide, 3-foot high dam was originally constructed to create an area for swimming and boating.

Biohabitats is helping Clean Water Services implement the removal of the dam to restore not only fish passage, but floodplain connectivity and instream habitat. The project involves dewatering the channel, safely salvaging and transporting fish, demolishing and removing the entire dam structure including all concrete, headwalls and piles; installing large wood habitat and boulder structures, widening the stream, removing a berm, and restoring all impacted areas to facilitate enhanced habitat.

The project brings improved sediment, wood transport, and water quality to the system while opening up miles of habitat for species such as Coho Salmon, Pacific Lamprey, Coastal Cutthroat Trout, Mountain Whitefish, and the federally protected Winter Steelhead.