River could see restoration: Science team studying idea of helping out the South River

By Sage Merritt

Published: June 19, 2008

Some areas of the South River in Waynesboro may get a facelift, according to members of a local team devoted to studying environmental issues on the waterway.
The South River Science Team is studying the possibility of restoring a stretch of eroded riverbank on the former DuPont property and removing obsolete dams that hold back water along the South in Waynesboro.
The goal of both endeavors is to improve water quality and aquatic habitats, according to Mike Liberati, a member of the South River Science Team and project director for DuPont’s Corporate Remediation Group. The bank restoration project, specifically, could ease mercury contamination in the river.
“The section of riverbank that we’re targeting for the restoration is upstream of Rockfish Run,” Liberati explained. “It’s an example of a riverbank that, because of erosion, introduces mud into the river.
One of the South River Science Team’s leading hypotheses for ongoing sources of mercury in the system is from eroding banks, so we not only have mud coming off the banks but potentially have mud containing mercury coming off the banks.”
The Bank Restoration Pilot Project, as it has been dubbed, is in the design stage. As the project progresses, the South River Science Team will develop a strategy to stabilize the bank. Liberati said he envisions a bank more resistant to erosion, with less exposed soil and tree roots.
“I would expect that the bank will have more of a natural contour rather than a cliff-like exposure, and vegetation established to keep it from eroding,” he said.
The dam removal project is focused on the former DuPont intake dam on the South River near Wayne Avenue. The structure obstructs the progression of water through the river, Liberati said. That is a problem, according to Larry Mohn, regional fisheries manager at the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
“Dams cause warmup of water temperatures,” Mohn said. “It’s slowing down the water and producing a volume of water in there that doesn’t cool overnight. That’s stressful for the trout downstream.”
The timeline for removal of the DuPont dam depends on money, Mohn added. Demolition of the concrete structure would only take a few days, he said.
Another area dam under consideration for destruction is Rife-Loth Dam off Rife Road. That structure significantly impacts water quality downstream, Mohn said, but its removal is much more uncertain than the DuPont dam.
“That dam is actually owned by a homeowners association,” Mohn said. “That one’s a little more controversial. It’s on hold until the association decides if it wants to remove it.”