News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
A restoration project at Wright Lake in Monterey moving forward to re-establish the Brady Branch stream system.
MRW Environmental in Sparta will conduct the work. Managing Member Ken Morgan said the environmental consulting firm will drain Wright Lake and re-establish the stream.
“This project will restore Brady Branch, which had been dammed up and formed the lake, back to its historic condition that of a headwater stream,” Morgan said.
Morgan said the firm is conducting the work for two reasons: mitigation and biodiversity. Morgan said this restoration will help offset the loss of wetlands and streams from increased development in the region.
“So by restoring this stream, we’re providing an area for developers to come in and say if we’ve impacted a stream through a development project, we can come to you guys and make up that stream impact with the new streams that you have placed on the ground,” Morgan said.
“When that stream was destroyed keep in mind it’s been under water for 100 years,” Morgan said. “There are no stream functions there. There are no organisms that live in the stream. It was converted to a lake, and so the species that are living are game fish and lake species. By putting that back, we would increase biodiversity significantly,”
Morgan said the project was initiated after the firm acquired the land to fix a dam breach. Morgan said in April of 2020, the dam that held Brady Branch breached. Morgan said while repairing the man made dam, the firm saw an opportunity to restore the stream system that had been dammed.
Morgan said they lack just one permit to begin the project. Morgan said he anticipates work to begin next month. Approximately 1,750 feet of stream will be diverted into a constructed channel during restoration.
“The engineering concepts come from stream models developed by the state and other stream experts,” Morgan said. “Those models are based on the different eco-regions of the state.”
