A much-touted waterway restoration project in Fredericton is facing erosion problems and its fish passage is not functional. "It's sad," said Tom Hickie, who lives on River Street in Marysville. "A lot of people were really good-intentioned.
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They didn't want this to happen." He said there was a lot of money spent and a lot of effort, "and there's a mess." A dam behind Hickie's house, on Campbell Creek, was removed two-and-a-half years ago, with hopes of restoring the natural flow of the watercourse and to allow fish, including salmon and eels, to pass.
A waterfall and fishway were built just downstream from where the dam used to be. Now, one of the banks just below the falls is bare, and the fishway is a bone-dry "jumble of rocks," Hickie said. Tom Hickie says at first he was against removing the dam but was resigned to the fact that it had deteriorated beyond repair and had to go.
Now, in spite of the current issues, he says he's generally happy to have a naturally flowing creek in his backyard. (Jennifer Sweet/CBC) Pools in the creek have filled with sand. Scattered chunks of cement litter the bed.
Above the falls, large rocks that were placed to reinforce the banks have collapsed as dirt washed out from under them. Pieces of cement, glass and metal protrude from the grassy banks and plastic tarps can be seen right next to the water, mixed in with the eroded soil. The erosion problems started less than six months after the restoration project was completed, said Hickie, .
