Mary Griswold Steube Fishway – Old Lyme, Connecticut

Completed in 1998, the Mary Griswold Steube Fishway at Lower Mill Pond Dam in Old Lyme, Connecticut was constructed as a cooperative venture of the Connecticut River Watershed Council and the Old Lyme Conservation Trust.

Named in honor of a generous benefactor of the Old Lyme Conservation Trust who donated the project site, the fishway provides a means for anadromonous fish (alewives) to pass the dam and spawn in the pond and central reaches of the Mill River.

The fishway consists of concrete entrance and exit structures, a concrete resting pool with a side viewing window for counting fish transiting the fishway, and an aluminum steep pass structure.

Aesthetics were an important part of the project as the fishway could be seen from a dwelling located immediately across the Mill River from the project.

Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, Inc. received a GreenCircle™ Award in 1999 from the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection for design and construction administration services for the project.