After Seven Years, Blackwater Creek Streambed is Almost Restored

By Miles Fitzgerald | Guest Writer

Following seven years of construction, the new Black Water Creek stream bed is set to be completed in July 2025. Between removing the old dam, creating a new stream bed, and constructing a new bridge on Lakeside Drive, the project has been long and arduous.

The journey began in August 2018 after a flood caused water to surge over the dam and onto Lakeside Drive. After the event, officials from both the City of Lynchburg and the University of Lynchburg realized that the dam needed to be removed due to safety concerns. At the time, the dam was owned by the city, while the lake was owned by the university; and thus a collaboration to find a solution began.

The first step to resolving the issue involved the creation of the new bridge and roundabout, which needed to be completed first to create easy access to the dam and move Lakeside Drive into a safer position for pedestrians and motorists. 

Senior Madison Mark spoke about the benefits that the new roundabout has had on traffic, stating “The old road used to be very heavily trafficked, and was challenging to get into and out of campus from the front entrance of the school. The roundabout and bridge have made the flow of traffic much smoother.”

Once the roundabout was completed, construction crews began working to remove the College Lake Dam, which had been built in 1934 for flood control.

Early plans for this project proposed transforming the stream bed into a wetland learning laboratory for university students. Associate Professor of Science Dr. Laura Henry-Stone was heavily involved in the project during its early stages and is a proponent of the project’s effects on wetland diversity.

“For me, it’s all about biodiversity,” said Henry-Stone. “A wetland habitat provides space for a greater amount of biodiversity than the big urban lake we had there.”

The project will come to fruition in the summer of this year, seven years after the flood that started it all. Upon its completion, the University hopes to use this new stream bed as a resource for student education, recreation, and activities. 

For more information on this project, visit College Lake Dam Removal