The Mill Creek Abandoned Dam

Abandoned Navy Base Dam (c. 1950)
Mill Creek, Riverview (map, aerial photo, slideshow, architectural plans)

• Dimensions of structure: 55 metres long by 6 metres high
• Area impounded: Approximately 12 acres
• Area affected: Approximately 60 km2
• Length of stream: Approximately 25 kilometers

Built around 1950, the dam on Mill Creek in Riverview was intended to be used as a reservoir in case of fire at the Naval Base on Ruddymeade Road, a facility which was closed down in 1970. In the following years, the Town of Riverview acquired title to the dam and the adjacent land from the Department of National Defense.

Plans were to develop the area as a nature/recreation park. Today, siltation prevents the pond from being used for aquatic activities and the dam no longer serves its intended purpose, aside from being designated as an emergency water supply should a significant forest fire occur in the near vicinity. Cracks have also been detected in the dam, showing signs that the structure is weakening.

Negative impacts of the abandoned Navy Base dam on Mills Creek:

• Creates total obstruction to fish passage
• Prevents nutrients from flowing downstream
• Shows an accumulation of sediments in upper pond
• Has a direct impact on the stream's biodiversity
• Poses a potential threat to public safety, and should this abandoned dam fail, poses a potential threat to the ecology of the Petitcodiac River system

The Mill Creek Watershed Group, a local environmental committee located in Riverview, is actively involved in the restoration of Mill Creek and its members are advocating for the removal of this abandoned dam, as well as the creation of a nature/ecological park in the drained headpond's basin once the stream is restored.