We’re committed to improving our ecosystems, quality of life, and communities for the better.
Our passion and commitment to the integration of innovative science and engineering drive us to exceed on behalf of every client.
WP_Query Object ( [query] => Array ( [location] => massachusetts ) [query_vars] => Array ( [location] => massachusetts [error] => [m] => [p] => 0 [post_parent] => [subpost] => [subpost_id] => [attachment] => [attachment_id] => 0 [name] => [pagename] => [page_id] => 0 [second] => [minute] => [hour] => [day] => 0 [monthnum] => 0 [year] => 0 [w] => 0 [category_name] => [tag] => [cat] => [tag_id] => [author] => [author_name] => [feed] => [tb] => [paged] => 1 [meta_key] => [meta_value] => [preview] => [s] => [sentence] => [title] => [fields] => all [menu_order] => [embed] => [category__in] => Array ( ) [category__not_in] => Array ( ) [category__and] => Array ( ) [post__in] => Array ( ) [post__not_in] => Array ( ) [post_name__in] => Array ( ) [tag__in] => Array ( ) [tag__not_in] => Array ( ) [tag__and] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__in] => Array ( ) [tag_slug__and] => Array ( ) [post_parent__in] => Array ( ) [post_parent__not_in] => Array ( ) [author__in] => Array ( ) [author__not_in] => Array ( ) [search_columns] => Array ( ) [ignore_sticky_posts] => [suppress_filters] => [cache_results] => 1 [update_post_term_cache] => 1 [update_menu_item_cache] => [lazy_load_term_meta] => 1 [update_post_meta_cache] => 1 [post_type] => [posts_per_page] => 10 [nopaging] => [comments_per_page] => 5 [no_found_rows] => [taxonomy] => location [term] => massachusetts [order] => DESC ) [tax_query] => WP_Tax_Query Object ( [queries] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [taxonomy] => location [terms] => Array ( [0] => massachusetts ) [field] => slug [operator] => IN [include_children] => 1 ) ) [relation] => AND [table_aliases:protected] => Array ( [0] => ph_term_relationships ) [queried_terms] => Array ( [location] => Array ( [terms] => Array ( [0] => massachusetts ) [field] => slug ) ) [primary_table] => ph_posts [primary_id_column] => ID ) [meta_query] => WP_Meta_Query Object ( [queries] => Array ( ) [relation] => [meta_table] => [meta_id_column] => [primary_table] => [primary_id_column] => [table_aliases:protected] => Array ( ) [clauses:protected] => Array ( ) [has_or_relation:protected] => ) [date_query] => [queried_object] => WP_Term Object ( [term_id] => 1323 [name] => Massachusetts [slug] => massachusetts [term_group] => 0 [term_taxonomy_id] => 1323 [taxonomy] => location [description] => [parent] => 0 [count] => 9 [filter] => raw [term_order] => 0 ) [queried_object_id] => 1323 [request] => SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS ph_posts.ID FROM ph_posts LEFT JOIN ph_term_relationships ON (ph_posts.ID = ph_term_relationships.object_id) WHERE 1=1 AND ( ph_term_relationships.term_taxonomy_id IN (1323) ) AND ((ph_posts.post_type = 'project' AND (ph_posts.post_status = 'publish' OR ph_posts.post_status = 'acf-disabled'))) GROUP BY ph_posts.ID ORDER BY ph_posts.menu_order, ph_posts.post_date DESC LIMIT 0, 10 [posts] => Array ( [0] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 17052 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2025-02-12 16:26:02 [post_date_gmt] => 2025-02-12 16:26:02 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro performed a flood assessment and flood mitigation resiliency analysis for the communities within the Lower Moodna Creek Watershed (Cornwall, New Windsor, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and Woodbury) using funds from a 2016 grant program sponsored by the New England Interstate Waters Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and the NYSDEC-Hudson River Estuary Program (HREP). The greater Moodna Creek Watershed covers 180 square miles of eastern Orange County. The watershed includes 22 municipalities and hundreds of smaller streams that flow into Moodna Creek and ultimately the Hudson River. Many of the areas within both the Upper and Lower Moodna watersheds are highly prone to flooding during rainfall events. This vulnerability to high-water events was most clearly exposed between August 2011 and October 2012, when this region experienced three extreme weather events. In one year, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Hurricane Sandy caused significant flooding throughout the Moodna Creek Watershed, damaging several public facilities, roadways, and private properties. The Upper Moodna watershed was studied as part of the 2014 New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program. Our primary goal was to identify areas within the study area that have reoccurring flood issues, may be susceptible to damage from large rain events, and additional problems may surface as climate and watershed conditions change over time. Part of this goal was also to develop structural and non-structural strategies to mitigate flooding. Princeton Hydro staff conducted site investigations and reach assessments at sites with critical infrastructure and photo-documented existing structures, infrastructure, and channel and floodplain conditions. The team recorded signs of recent disturbances, man-made impacts, flooding, and floodplain constrictions. They conducted visual assessments to collect data on flow constrictions, areas of floodplain development, and areas of floodplain connection. This helped identify at-risk areas and ground-truth our hydrologic and hydraulic models for current and future risk. [gallery columns="2" link="none" size="medium" ids="17050,2857"] Princeton Hydro modeled flooding within the watershed during normal rain events, extreme rain events, and future rain events due to climate change. The project assessed the facilities, infrastructure, and urban development that are at risk from flooding along Moodna Creek and its tributaries and developed a series of hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) models to assess the extent of potential flooding from the 10-year, 100-year, and 500-year storm recurrence intervals. The modeling included flows for these storm events under existing conditions and hypothetical scenarios with predicted increases in precipitation and population growth. The project team proposed and evaluated a series of design measures to help reduce and mitigate existing and anticipated flood risk. The proposed solutions prioritized approaches that protect and/or mirror natural flood protection mechanisms within the watershed such as floodplain reconnection and wetland establishment. Overall, the analyses and recommendations, in conjunction with the modeling and conclusions developed for the Upper Moodna, resulted in a fully developed flood assessment master plan and flood mitigation plan that can serve as a roadmap for reducing flooding issues within the entire Moodna Creek Watershed. [post_title] => Moodna Creek Watershed Flood Mitigation Assessment [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => moodna-creek-watershed-flood-mitigation-assessment [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2025-02-12 16:26:02 [post_modified_gmt] => 2025-02-12 16:26:02 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=17052 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [1] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 14586 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2024-02-06 20:58:15 [post_date_gmt] => 2024-02-06 20:58:15 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro was hired by the Town of Scituate and MA Division of Ecological Restoration to provide engineering feasibility, design, permitting, and construction oversight services for the dam removal in Scituate, MA. The project was a MA DER priority project due to its high potential for restoration of diadromous fish. The dam was a head of tide dam with rainbow smelt spawning habitat just below the dam. The site had significant historic value, including an old mill building once owned by the great, great, great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The site was also bifurcated by the historic “Boundary Line,” a border established in 1640 which denoted the boundary between the colonies of Massachusetts and New Plymouth. Significant Section 106 historic and archeological consultation was therefore incorporated into this dam removal project. The project also included significant outreach to the local community, primarily made up of abutting property owners concerned about the loss of the impoundment behind the dam. [gallery link="none" columns="2" ids="14588,14590"] The project was initiated due to the need to pave Mordechai Lincoln Road, but paving was not possible without first repairing the dam’s overflow pipe which extended under the historic mill building. A project partnership was then developed with numerous state agencies and environmental organizations, led by MA DER and the Town of Scituate, to find funding for the removal of the dam and the restoration of Bound Brook. The dam removal was complicated by the existence of an active water main directly upstream of the dam. As part of the design, our design team had to relocate the water main as well as slip line the decaying pipe under the historic mill building. Passive restoration methods were utilized, allowing Bound Brook to find its own diverse channel pattern within the dewatered impoundment. The design plans depicted multiple potential paths where the channel might form. At Princeton Hydro we practice a “less is more” design approach to restoration, placing our faith in the natural channel forming processes of a river whenever possible. [post_title] => Hunters Pond Dam Removal [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => hunters-pond-dam-removal-2 [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-03-06 21:05:29 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-03-06 21:05:29 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=14586 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [2] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 13653 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2023-09-20 11:34:35 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-09-20 11:34:35 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro was hired by The Nature Conservancy to design and permit the replacement of the Mitchell Brook culvert in Whatley, MA. The culvert was designed according to the Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards to promote aquatic organism passage. Road crossings over streams have gained recent attention in the Northeast for interrupting stream continuity, fragmenting habitat, and creating barriers to fish passage. The USGS, in partnership with other agencies, had been collecting fish passage data at two road crossings in a small rural watershed in western Massachusetts. The Nature Conservancy contracted Princeton Hydro to design and implement a culvert crossing retrofit that would allow for before-and-after comparison of fish passage rates on Mitchell Brook, a tributary to the West River. As one of the few stream crossing retrofits with extensive fish passage data collection, the project is intended to serve as a model for ongoing efforts. [gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="13655,13654"] Princeton Hydro completed a geomorphic assessment and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and applied the USFS Stream Simulation process to develop a design that satisfied the Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards. As the crossing was a public road, the design also had to satisfy MassDOT road and bridge standards. Princeton Hydro gained the necessary permit approvals from Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the local Conservation Commission (administering state Wetland regulations), and the US Army Corps of Engineers. [post_title] => Mitchell Brook Aquatic Organism Passage Culvert Replacement [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => mitchell-brook-aop-culvert-replacement [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2023-09-20 11:37:51 [post_modified_gmt] => 2023-09-20 11:37:51 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=13653 [menu_order] => 0 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [3] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11888 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-11-16 16:04:26 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-11-16 16:04:26 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro was hired by the Town of Scituate and Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration to provide engineering feasibility, design, permitting, and construction oversight services for the dam removal in Scituate, MA. The project was a MA DER priority project due to its high potential for restoration of diadromous fish. The dam was a head of tide dam with rainbow smelt spawning habitat just below the dam. The site had significant historic value, including an old mill building once owned by the great, great, great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The site was also bifurcated by the historic “Boundary Line,” a border established in 1640 which denoted the boundary between the colonies of Massachusetts and New Plymouth. Significant Section 106 historic and archeological consultation was therefore incorporated into this dam removal project. The project also included significant outreach to the local community, primarily made up of abutting property owners concerned about the loss of the impoundment behind the dam. The project was initiated due to the need to pave Mordechai Lincoln Road, but paving was not possible without first repairing the dam’s overflow pipe which extended under the historic mill building. A project partnership was then developed with numerous state agencies and environmental organizations, led by MA DER and the Town of Scituate, to find funding for the removal of the dam and the restoration of Bound Brook. [gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="11892,11890"] The dam removal was complicated by the existence of an active water main directly upstream of the dam. As part of the design, our design team had to relocate the water main as well as slip line the decaying pipe under the historic mill building. Passive restoration methods were utilized, allowing Bound Brook to find its own diverse channel pattern within the dewatered impoundment. The design plans depicted multiple potential paths where the channel might form. At Princeton Hydro we practice a “less is more” design approach to restoration, placing our faith in the natural channel forming processes of a river whenever possible. [post_title] => Hunters Pond Dam Removal [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => hunters-pond-dam-removal [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-11-16 16:44:49 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-11-16 16:44:49 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=11888 [menu_order] => 27 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [4] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11862 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-11-16 15:11:43 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-11-16 15:11:43 [post_content] => As part of New Jersey Audubon Society’s Coastal Impoundment Vulnerability and Resilience Project, Princeton Hydro was contracted to inspect and analyze coastal impoundments along the East Coast. Coastal impoundments allow for the active management of water levels, therefore creating a unique habitat that can influence a diversity of bird populations. The ability to maximize the ecological value of these relatively small impoundment areas to the benefit of numerous species is remarkable. Ranging from coastal areas of Massachusets to Virginia, Princeton Hydro conducted visual engineering inpsections and vulnerability assessments for fourteen impoundment clusters: -Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, MA -Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, NY -Supawna Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, NJ -Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, NJ -Kingsland Impoundment, NJ -Heislerville Wildlife Management Area, NJ -John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, PA -Thousand Acre Marsh, DE -Prime Hook, DE -Deal Island Wildlife Management Area, MD -Fairmount Wildlife Management Area, MD -Hog Island Wildlife Management Area, VA -Princess Anne, VA -Doe Creek Wildlife Management Area, VA The engineering team specifically looked for evidence of erosion, overtopping and other conditions that might compromise the stability of the embankments. First, the waterward area was observed to determine the relative protection that may or may not be provided by any existing marsh area or artificial structures. Second, the area inland from the impoundments was observed to determine if the impoundment was potentially providing any storm surge or energy dissipation services for inland structures which might include homes, businesses, roadways, utilities or other structures. Supplementing the desktop GIS analysis, the in-field inspection data provided detailed information on the structural integrity and vulnerability of the embankments, which provided valuable insight for management of the impoundments. [gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="11864,11863"] The findings of the inspections and GIS site evaluations were presented to impoundment operators from across the Mid-Atlantic region. The presentation provided the operators with knowledge which will help them improve the operations of coastal impoundments and increase the resiliency of the structures they manage. [post_title] => Coastal Impoundment Vulnerability and Resilience Project [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => coastal-impoundment-vulnerability-and-resilience-project [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-01-19 01:35:12 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-01-19 01:35:12 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=11862 [menu_order] => 28 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [5] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11867 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-11-16 15:28:31 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-11-16 15:28:31 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro was contracted by Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) and the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) to develop a conceptual restoration design for the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve (CBP). Cold Brook is a small coastal stream, approximately three miles long, that drains to Saquatucket Harbor on the south shore of Cape Cod. The Cold Brook watershed has undergone profound hydrologic and floristic alteration since at least the late 19th century, primarily to accommodate cranberry cultivation. [gallery columns="2" link="none" ids="11868,11869"] The CBP site was selected as a Priority Project of DER; as such, this site was eligible for funding and management assistance through partnership with DER. The goals for the CBP site included the restoration of fundamental wetland services and functions with a focus on exposure of native soils, management of the existing sand cap, cultivation of native habitat types and plant communities, and restoration of natural site hydrology. Princeton Hydro provided a restoration concept based on fulfilling a number of requirements expressed by HCT and DER. The requirements included self-sustainability; restoration of wetland function; promotion of natural hydrology; enhancement of fish and wildlife passage; improvement to water quality; resiliency to climate change and sea level rise; and maintenance and enhancement of public accessibility. An important aspect of the restoration of natural hydrology at the CBP site was the tidal influence and salinity intrusion into the site. Site monitoring showed the lower third of the site to be tidal, although the head of the tide within the incised channel extends farther into the site. The tidal range and variable salinity were necessary and fundamental concerns in the restoration of the site and dictated plant community selection as well as aquatic habitat zonation. [post_title] => Cold Brook Preserve Restoration Project [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => cold-brook-preserve-restoration-project [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2022-11-16 15:30:06 [post_modified_gmt] => 2022-11-16 15:30:06 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=11867 [menu_order] => 34 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [6] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 11521 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2022-09-20 16:20:25 [post_date_gmt] => 2022-09-20 16:20:25 [post_content] => The Horseshoe Mill Dam spanned the Weweantic River at the head-of-tide and was the first barrier to fish passage on the river. The dam, built in 1827, supported a metal forge mill whose buildings were removed in 1966. The surrounding property had since been allowed to revert to woodland with some open tall grass areas and approximately 10,000 feet of walking trails as a part of a public park. At the start of the project, the impoundment encompassed approximately 91 acres of largely vegetated wetlands ranging from floating emergent vegetation to emergent marsh and forested wetlands, all of which was predominantly open water in the past when the dam was fully functioning and at maximum height. Princeton Hydro was contracted by Buzzards Bay Coalition to progress the Horseshoe Mill Dam removal by providing design and permitting services, conducting site investigation and analysis including sediment testing, guiding the regulatory review process, assisting with project bidding, and providing engineering construction oversight. Additional project partners included U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and Luciano’s Excavation, Inc. (construction contractor). It was funded through the Bouchard 120 Natural Resource Damage Trustee Council, a federal-state entity comprised of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA, the State of Rhode Island, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The removal of the dam was initiated in December 2019 and finished in early 2021. It restored more than three miles of habitat for fish like river herring, white perch, and rainbow smelt. In April 2021, for the first time in over 150 years, migratory fish swam unimpeded from Buzzards Bay to lay their eggs in freshwater upstream. Prior to this removal, migratory fish could not make it past the large dam structure to swim upstream to their important breeding grounds. [post_title] => Wewantic River Restoration and Horseshoe Mill Dam Spillway Removal [post_excerpt] => [post_status] => publish [comment_status] => closed [ping_status] => closed [post_password] => [post_name] => wewantic-river-restoration-and-horseshoe-mill-dam-spillway-removal [to_ping] => [pinged] => [post_modified] => 2024-07-11 14:12:47 [post_modified_gmt] => 2024-07-11 14:12:47 [post_content_filtered] => [post_parent] => 0 [guid] => https://princetonhydro.com/?post_type=project&p=11521 [menu_order] => 42 [post_type] => project [post_mime_type] => [comment_count] => 0 [filter] => raw ) [7] => WP_Post Object ( [ID] => 12293 [post_author] => 1 [post_date] => 2023-02-15 15:11:43 [post_date_gmt] => 2023-02-15 15:11:43 [post_content] => Princeton Hydro was hired by the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration in 2011 to design and implement a feasibility study for the restoration of a Century Bog in Massachusetts. Century Bog is a 100+ year-old, 60-acre operating cranberry farm that spans the headwaters reach of Red Brook. As part of the study, Princeton Hydro undertook an ecological risk assessment to determine whether decades of pesticide use had created unacceptable risks for wildlife under existing or proposed conditions. Three broad project objectives were defined for the project as follows: Reduce water temperatures conveyed through the site to Red Brook Facilitate bi-directional passage of river herring through the site Replace the mono-specific cranberry crop and related features (e.g., service roads, dikes, ditches, borrow areas) with native plant communities. Princeton Hydro evaluated soil and sediment tests performed by others and concluded that historic pesticide residues, especially dieldrin and DDT, disproportionately occurred in a sand cap layer applied across the plantation surface to facilitate cranberry production. Then, the project team designed and implemented a series of subsequent investigations to determine the aqueous mobility of historic pesticides, to assess whether base-level food chain taxa showed evidence of pesticide in their tissue, and to calculate dietary exposure to wildlife that are known to forage this site. Following completion of the assessment, Princeton Hydro was subsequently retained for engineering design of the restoration project. The ecological risk assessment findings were integrated into our restoration design to reduce the mass of historic pesticide residue available in near-surface soils. The restoration design included the following:
Princeton Hydro performed a flood assessment and flood mitigation resiliency analysis for the communities within the Lower Moodna Creek Watershed (Cornwall, New Windsor, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and Woodbury) using funds from a 2016 grant program sponsored by the New England Interstate Waters Pollution Control Commission (NEIWPCC) and the NYSDEC-Hudson River Estuary Program (HREP).
The greater Moodna Creek Watershed covers 180 square miles of eastern Orange County. The watershed includes 22 municipalities and hundreds of smaller streams that flow into Moodna Creek and ultimately the Hudson River. Many of the areas within both the Upper and Lower Moodna watersheds are highly prone to flooding during rainfall events. This vulnerability to high-water events was most clearly exposed between August 2011 and October 2012, when this region experienced three extreme weather events.
In one year, Hurricane Irene, Tropical Storm Lee, and Hurricane Sandy caused significant flooding throughout the Moodna Creek Watershed, damaging several public facilities, roadways, and private properties. The Upper Moodna watershed was studied as part of the 2014 New York Rising Community Reconstruction Program.
Our primary goal was to identify areas within the study area that have reoccurring flood issues, may be susceptible to damage from large rain events, and additional problems may surface as climate and watershed conditions change over time. Part of this goal was also to develop structural and non-structural strategies to mitigate flooding. Princeton Hydro staff conducted site investigations and reach assessments at sites with critical infrastructure and photo-documented existing structures, infrastructure, and channel and floodplain conditions. The team recorded signs of recent disturbances, man-made impacts, flooding, and floodplain constrictions. They conducted visual assessments to collect data on flow constrictions, areas of floodplain development, and areas of floodplain connection. This helped identify at-risk areas and ground-truth our hydrologic and hydraulic models for current and future risk.
Princeton Hydro modeled flooding within the watershed during normal rain events, extreme rain events, and future rain events due to climate change. The project assessed the facilities, infrastructure, and urban development that are at risk from flooding along Moodna Creek and its tributaries and developed a series of hydrologic and hydraulic (H&H) models to assess the extent of potential flooding from the 10-year, 100-year, and 500-year storm recurrence intervals. The modeling included flows for these storm events under existing conditions and hypothetical scenarios with predicted increases in precipitation and population growth. The project team proposed and evaluated a series of design measures to help reduce and mitigate existing and anticipated flood risk. The proposed solutions prioritized approaches that protect and/or mirror natural flood protection mechanisms within the watershed such as floodplain reconnection and wetland establishment.
Overall, the analyses and recommendations, in conjunction with the modeling and conclusions developed for the Upper Moodna, resulted in a fully developed flood assessment master plan and flood mitigation plan that can serve as a roadmap for reducing flooding issues within the entire Moodna Creek Watershed.
Princeton Hydro was hired by the Town of Scituate and MA Division of Ecological Restoration to provide engineering feasibility, design, permitting, and construction oversight services for the dam removal in Scituate, MA. The project was a MA DER priority project due to its high potential for restoration of diadromous fish. The dam was a head of tide dam with rainbow smelt spawning habitat just below the dam. The site had significant historic value, including an old mill building once owned by the great, great, great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The site was also bifurcated by the historic “Boundary Line,” a border established in 1640 which denoted the boundary between the colonies of Massachusetts and New Plymouth. Significant Section 106 historic and archeological consultation was therefore incorporated into this dam removal project. The project also included significant outreach to the local community, primarily made up of abutting property owners concerned about the loss of the impoundment behind the dam.
The project was initiated due to the need to pave Mordechai Lincoln Road, but paving was not possible without first repairing the dam’s overflow pipe which extended under the historic mill building. A project partnership was then developed with numerous state agencies and environmental organizations, led by MA DER and the Town of Scituate, to find funding for the removal of the dam and the restoration of Bound Brook.
The dam removal was complicated by the existence of an active water main directly upstream of the dam. As part of the design, our design team had to relocate the water main as well as slip line the decaying pipe under the historic mill building. Passive restoration methods were utilized, allowing Bound Brook to find its own diverse channel pattern within the dewatered impoundment.
The design plans depicted multiple potential paths where the channel might form. At Princeton Hydro we practice a “less is more” design approach to restoration, placing our faith in the natural channel forming processes of a river whenever possible.
Princeton Hydro was hired by The Nature Conservancy to design and permit the replacement of the Mitchell Brook culvert in Whatley, MA. The culvert was designed according to the Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards to promote aquatic organism passage.
Road crossings over streams have gained recent attention in the Northeast for interrupting stream continuity, fragmenting habitat, and creating barriers to fish passage. The USGS, in partnership with other agencies, had been collecting fish passage data at two road crossings in a small rural watershed in western Massachusetts.
The Nature Conservancy contracted Princeton Hydro to design and implement a culvert crossing retrofit that would allow for before-and-after comparison of fish passage rates on Mitchell Brook, a tributary to the West River. As one of the few stream crossing retrofits with extensive fish passage data collection, the project is intended to serve as a model for ongoing efforts.
Princeton Hydro completed a geomorphic assessment and hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, and applied the USFS Stream Simulation process to develop a design that satisfied the Massachusetts Stream Crossing Standards. As the crossing was a public road, the design also had to satisfy MassDOT road and bridge standards. Princeton Hydro gained the necessary permit approvals from Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the local Conservation Commission (administering state Wetland regulations), and the US Army Corps of Engineers.
Princeton Hydro was hired by the Town of Scituate and Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration to provide engineering feasibility, design, permitting, and construction oversight services for the dam removal in Scituate, MA. The project was a MA DER priority project due to its high potential for restoration of diadromous fish. The dam was a head of tide dam with rainbow smelt spawning habitat just below the dam.
The site had significant historic value, including an old mill building once owned by the great, great, great grandfather of Abraham Lincoln. The site was also bifurcated by the historic “Boundary Line,” a border established in 1640 which denoted the boundary between the colonies of Massachusetts and New Plymouth. Significant Section 106 historic and archeological consultation was therefore incorporated into this dam removal project. The project also included significant outreach to the local community, primarily made up of abutting property owners concerned about the loss of the impoundment behind the dam.
The dam removal was complicated by the existence of an active water main directly upstream of the dam. As part of the design, our design team had to relocate the water main as well as slip line the decaying pipe under the historic mill building.
Passive restoration methods were utilized, allowing Bound Brook to find its own diverse channel pattern within the dewatered impoundment. The design plans depicted multiple potential paths where the channel might form. At Princeton Hydro we practice a “less is more” design approach to restoration, placing our faith in the natural channel forming processes of a river whenever possible.
As part of New Jersey Audubon Society’s Coastal Impoundment Vulnerability and Resilience Project, Princeton Hydro was contracted to inspect and analyze coastal impoundments along the East Coast.
Coastal impoundments allow for the active management of water levels, therefore creating a unique habitat that can influence a diversity of bird populations. The ability to maximize the ecological value of these relatively small impoundment areas to the benefit of numerous species is remarkable.
Ranging from coastal areas of Massachusets to Virginia, Princeton Hydro conducted visual engineering inpsections and vulnerability assessments for fourteen impoundment clusters:
The engineering team specifically looked for evidence of erosion, overtopping and other conditions that might compromise the stability of the embankments. First, the waterward area was observed to determine the relative protection that may or may not be provided by any existing marsh area or artificial structures. Second, the area inland from the impoundments was observed to determine if the impoundment was potentially providing any storm surge or energy dissipation services for inland structures which might include homes, businesses, roadways, utilities or other structures. Supplementing the desktop GIS analysis, the in-field inspection data provided detailed information on the structural integrity and vulnerability of the embankments, which provided valuable insight for management of the impoundments.
The findings of the inspections and GIS site evaluations were presented to impoundment operators from across the Mid-Atlantic region. The presentation provided the operators with knowledge which will help them improve the operations of coastal impoundments and increase the resiliency of the structures they manage.
Princeton Hydro was contracted by Harwich Conservation Trust (HCT) and the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration (DER) to develop a conceptual restoration design for the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve (CBP). Cold Brook is a small coastal stream, approximately three miles long, that drains to Saquatucket Harbor on the south shore of Cape Cod. The Cold Brook watershed has undergone profound hydrologic and floristic alteration since at least the late 19th century, primarily to accommodate cranberry cultivation.
The CBP site was selected as a Priority Project of DER; as such, this site was eligible for funding and management assistance through partnership with DER. The goals for the CBP site included the restoration of fundamental wetland services and functions with a focus on exposure of native soils, management of the existing sand cap, cultivation of native habitat types and plant communities, and restoration of natural site hydrology.
Princeton Hydro provided a restoration concept based on fulfilling a number of requirements expressed by HCT and DER. The requirements included self-sustainability; restoration of wetland function; promotion of natural hydrology; enhancement of fish and wildlife passage; improvement to water quality; resiliency to climate change and sea level rise; and maintenance and enhancement of public accessibility.
An important aspect of the restoration of natural hydrology at the CBP site was the tidal influence and salinity intrusion into the site. Site monitoring showed the lower third of the site to be tidal, although the head of the tide within the incised channel extends farther into the site. The tidal range and variable salinity were necessary and fundamental concerns in the restoration of the site and dictated plant community selection as well as aquatic habitat zonation.
The Horseshoe Mill Dam spanned the Weweantic River at the head-of-tide and was the first barrier to fish passage on the river. The dam, built in 1827, supported a metal forge mill whose buildings were removed in 1966. The surrounding property had since been allowed to revert to woodland with some open tall grass areas and approximately 10,000 feet of walking trails as a part of a public park. At the start of the project, the impoundment encompassed approximately 91 acres of largely vegetated wetlands ranging from floating emergent vegetation to emergent marsh and forested wetlands, all of which was predominantly open water in the past when the dam was fully functioning and at maximum height.
Princeton Hydro was contracted by Buzzards Bay Coalition to progress the Horseshoe Mill Dam removal by providing design and permitting services, conducting site investigation and analysis including sediment testing, guiding the regulatory review process, assisting with project bidding, and providing engineering construction oversight.
Additional project partners included U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and Luciano’s Excavation, Inc. (construction contractor). It was funded through the Bouchard 120 Natural Resource Damage Trustee Council, a federal-state entity comprised of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA, the State of Rhode Island, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
The removal of the dam was initiated in December 2019 and finished in early 2021. It restored more than three miles of habitat for fish like river herring, white perch, and rainbow smelt. In April 2021, for the first time in over 150 years, migratory fish swam unimpeded from Buzzards Bay to lay their eggs in freshwater upstream. Prior to this removal, migratory fish could not make it past the large dam structure to swim upstream to their important breeding grounds.
Princeton Hydro was hired by the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration in 2011 to design and implement a feasibility study for the restoration of a Century Bog in Massachusetts. Century Bog is a 100+ year-old, 60-acre operating cranberry farm that spans the headwaters reach of Red Brook. As part of the study, Princeton Hydro undertook an ecological risk assessment to determine whether decades of pesticide use had created unacceptable risks for wildlife under existing or proposed conditions.
Three broad project objectives were defined for the project as follows:
Princeton Hydro evaluated soil and sediment tests performed by others and concluded that historic pesticide residues, especially dieldrin and DDT, disproportionately occurred in a sand cap layer applied across the plantation surface to facilitate cranberry production. Then, the project team designed and implemented a series of subsequent investigations to determine the aqueous mobility of historic pesticides, to assess whether base-level food chain taxa showed evidence of pesticide in their tissue, and to calculate dietary exposure to wildlife that are known to forage this site.
Following completion of the assessment, Princeton Hydro was subsequently retained for engineering design of the restoration project. The ecological risk assessment findings were integrated into our restoration design to reduce the mass of historic pesticide residue available in near-surface soils.
Princeton Hydro was contracted by Buzzards Bay Coalition to progress the Horseshoe Mill Dam removal by providing design and permitting services, conducting site investigation and analysis including sediment testing, guiding the regulatory review process, assisting with project bidding, and providing engineering construction oversight. Additional project partners included U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA, and Luciano’s Excavation, Inc. (construction contractor). It was funded through the Bouchard 120 Natural Resource Damage Trustee Council, a federal-state entity comprised of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, NOAA, the State of Rhode Island, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Your Full Name * Phone Number * Your Email * Organization Address Message *
By EmailBy Phone
Submit
Δ
Couldn’t find a match? Check back often as we post new positions throughout the year.
PRINCETON HYDRO
PRINCETON HYDRO