Small stream dams have been a part of the Eastern North Carolina scenery so long that even the old-timers can’t remember what it was like before they were built.  Some powered grist mills, others produced that newfangled electricity to illuminate the homes, barns and lives of rural and small folks many decades ago.  But for all the benefits they once provided, the dams environmental impact was significant.

Now with the roar of dynamite and the growl of heavy equipment, more and more of the old dams are being dismantled to recreate free-flowing streams across the region.  It is a project that will benefit the streams, the aquatic life that calls them home and the human visitors who like to fish, paddle or simply loaf aling their banks.

The impact of even one small dam can be far reaching.  Last week crews began removing the Lowell Dam on the Little River in Johnston County.  The demolition not only will return the Little River to its natural past, but Buffalo Creek, Little Buffalo Creek and Long Branch also will be opened to migrating fish for the first time in many generations.

And the fish are ready to come.  One Johnston County farmer whose family once owned the Lowell Dam said thousands of shad had begun gathering each spring on the downstream side of the dam since the 1999 removal of the Rains Mill Dam furhter down-river near Princeton.  Environtmentalists say that removing the Lowell Dam will open 39 miles of area streams to migratory fish.

Free-flowing water also helps flush away pollution.  All-in-all, the result of opening these creeks and rivers will be a more natural and healthier environment.  That’s a plus for every living thing.