Middlesex County Chamber: Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. Wins National Award

Press release from the Middlesex County Chamber:

October 11, 2021

A Connecticut consulting engineering firm has been selected by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to receive a National Engineering Excellence Award. Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, Inc., a civil and environmental engineering firm located in Chester, Connecticut, was selected in 2021 by ACEC National for their work on the Pages Mill Pond Dam Fishway on the Farm River in North Branford, Connecticut.
 
The Farm River has one of the largest populations of wild trout for a Connecticut coastal river and has been targeted by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CTDEEP), Inland Fisheries Division as one of the best opportunities to establish a run of sea-run brown trout while at the same time further developing the existing river herring runs.
 
The fishway consists of a series of concrete structures and sloped aluminum steeppass sections that were carefully designed to avoid impacts to the river and existing infrastructure, for hydrodynamic forces during extreme flood events, and to meet the owner’s aesthetic requirements. The 170 ft. long Fishway will allow resident brown trout and target species to climb 10 feet to reach the 4.25-acre head pond and 6 miles of river habitat above the dam. The target species are diadromous fish (fish that spend portions of their life cycles in both fresh water and salt water) including sea-run brown trout, alewife, blueback herring, sea lamprey and American eel. This is the first time in 323 years that target species have had access above the dam since construction of the dam and a mill at the site in 1697.
 
Restoring the free passage of migratory fish species not only has a positive effect on the health and numbers of the target species but has a cascading benefit to the health and wellness of species on subsequent levels of the food chain. The project was built in 2020 for approximately $373,000. Engineering and construction costs were funded with generous grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the CTDEEP.
 
The project was a partnership between the dam owners (the Suter family), Hammonasset Chapter #446 of Trout Unlimited, Inc. (a non-profit organization), Save the Sound (a non-profit organization) and the CTDEEP, Inland Fisheries Division. The fishway was designed by Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. who also prepared permit submissions, and performed part-time construction administration and inspection. The fishway was constructed by Schumack Engineered Construction Corp. of Clinton, CT. The fishway is operated and maintained by Trout Unlimited with assistance from the CTDEEP, Inland Fisheries Division.

This press release was produced by the Middlesex County Chamber. The views expressed here are the author’s own.