Bosher Dam
Encyclopedia
Bosher Dam is a historic but unnatural feature in the James River
just west of Richmond
, Virginia
. A lowhead dam, also called a weir, is what paddlers ruefully call a "drowning machine," this 12-foot-high stone structure interrupts the natural flow of Virginia's largest self-contained river by spanning the waterway between Henrico County
and south Richmond
just west of the Edward E. Willey Bridge
.
, a major 19th Century transportation project whose emphasis in 1835 was getting boat traffic around the Falls of the James, the boulder-strewn whitewater that blocked river transport for at least ten miles around Richmond.
The dam may have provided power for nearby gristmills and provided sufficient water depth to the Canal flowing on what eventually became a 22-mile pathway as it weaves above the north shore of the James around the Falls.
Such fish as shad, herring, and striped bass—which make their migratory spawning runs between March and early June—had been blocked by Bosher, which made migration impossible for at least 300 miles upstream in the James, the Rivanna River, and other tributaries.
While the dam still functions to get water into the Canal, which has become more of a historic feature than a means of transportation, it has also created conditions to make this section of the James suitable for powerboating with waterskiing and other activities typically available only on lakes and larger waterways.
Perhaps the rise of powerboating explains why, rather than breach or demolish the dam, as has been the recent custom in other communities, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries decided instead to build an extensive fish ladder aside the dam.
Opened in 1999, the fish ladder allows the migratory fish around the dam via a 17-inch-wide pathway.
One Richmond-area news source has posed the question: "Should a park be created at Bosher’s Dam?"
, boaters can encounter them inadvertently. Lowhead dams can be particularly hazardous because they tend to create "hydraulics," currents that push objects (and people) underwater http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtR-mliLoP4 and then inextricably cycle them for hours, days, or weeks until the water level changes.
James River (Virginia)
The James River is a river in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is long, extending to if one includes the Jackson River, the longer of its two source tributaries. The James River drains a catchment comprising . The watershed includes about 4% open water and an area with a population of 2.5 million...
just west of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. A lowhead dam, also called a weir, is what paddlers ruefully call a "drowning machine," this 12-foot-high stone structure interrupts the natural flow of Virginia's largest self-contained river by spanning the waterway between Henrico County
Henrico County, Virginia
Henrico is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a state of the United States. As of 2010, Henrico was home to 306,935 people. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
and south Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
just west of the Edward E. Willey Bridge
Edward E. Willey Bridge
Edward E. Willey Bridge is a highway bridge which crosses the upper James River in the western portion of Henrico County, Virginia. It carries Chippenham Parkway between Parham Road in Henrico and the southwestern portion of the independent city of Richmond. It was named in honor of Edward E...
.
History
The structure dates to 1835 at the location of an earlier dam designed to catch fish between slats. The current iteration was part of construction of the James River and Kanawha CanalJames River and Kanawha Canal
The James River and Kanawha Canal was a canal in Virginia, which was built to facilitate shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western counties of Virginia and the coast....
, a major 19th Century transportation project whose emphasis in 1835 was getting boat traffic around the Falls of the James, the boulder-strewn whitewater that blocked river transport for at least ten miles around Richmond.
The dam may have provided power for nearby gristmills and provided sufficient water depth to the Canal flowing on what eventually became a 22-mile pathway as it weaves above the north shore of the James around the Falls.
Recent developments
In recent years, hundreds of lowhead dams have been removed from American rivers in an effort to restore the traditional spawning grounds of native fish with notable nearby dam removals occurring in Charlottesville and in Fredericksburg.Such fish as shad, herring, and striped bass—which make their migratory spawning runs between March and early June—had been blocked by Bosher, which made migration impossible for at least 300 miles upstream in the James, the Rivanna River, and other tributaries.
While the dam still functions to get water into the Canal, which has become more of a historic feature than a means of transportation, it has also created conditions to make this section of the James suitable for powerboating with waterskiing and other activities typically available only on lakes and larger waterways.
Perhaps the rise of powerboating explains why, rather than breach or demolish the dam, as has been the recent custom in other communities, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries decided instead to build an extensive fish ladder aside the dam.
Opened in 1999, the fish ladder allows the migratory fish around the dam via a 17-inch-wide pathway.
Future
With the 10 acres north of the dam belonging to the James River Park System, an opportunity exists to create more public access to this scenic area. Whether such parties as the neighbors along upscale Cherokee Road and Riverside Drive, as well as the Virginia Power Boat Association http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msid=210540717405551165145.0004a6a12dd9ebaf6ce66&msa=0&ll=37.562269,-77.588754&spn=0.018778,0.052314 will smile on such an effort remains unknown.One Richmond-area news source has posed the question: "Should a park be created at Bosher’s Dam?"
Incidents at Bosher
Because lowhead dams can be nearly invisible to people on boats, giving an impression similar to the edge of an infinity poolInfinity pool
An infinity edge pool is a swimming or reflecting pool which produces a visual effect of water extending to the horizon, vanishing, or extending to "infinity"...
, boaters can encounter them inadvertently. Lowhead dams can be particularly hazardous because they tend to create "hydraulics," currents that push objects (and people) underwater http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtR-mliLoP4 and then inextricably cycle them for hours, days, or weeks until the water level changes.
- July 17, 1988 - Lisa Everett Cavanaugh, 20 - fatally injured when a boat on which she is a passenger runs over the dam,
- May 26, 1989 - Kari Karte, 22 - uninjured when her boat goes over the dam,
- February 20, 1994 - Robert Michael Green, 15 - drowned when he slips from the dam,
- May 30, 1997 - Janet Heath, 25 - injured when a waterski boat goes over the dam.http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=RTDB&p_theme=rtdb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&s_hidethis=no&p_field_label-0=Author&p_field_label-1=title&p_bool_label-1=AND&s_dispstring=bosher%20and%20dam%20and%20accident%20AND%20date%28all%29&p_field_advanced-0=&p_text_advanced-0=%28bosher%20and%20dam%20and%20accident%29&xcal_numdocs=20&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&xcal_useweights=no