Green River Dam Removal Reverses a Century of Infrastructure History in Kentucky

"Demolition of a dangerous, aging dam on the Green River near Brownsville, Kentucky is scheduled to begin the last week of March," reports James Bruggers. The demolition "[offers] hope for the restoration of endangered freshwater mussels and improved water recreation in and near Mammoth Cave National Park," adds Bruggers.

The latest development in the saga of the dam follows the news in November that Lock and Dam 6, as the dam is officially called, failed. The dam's failure allowed more natural flows on that stretch of the Green River for the first time in more than a century.

The federal Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, approved by Congress in December, allowed for the dam's removal. The bill also de-authorized the federal government's need for Green River Locks and Dams 3, 4, and 5, and Barren River Lock and Dam 1, "allowing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to turn them over to other entities."