List of dam removals in Massachusetts explained

This is a list of dams in Massachusetts that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams.__TOC__

Completed removals

Dam[1] Height Year removed Location Watercourse Watershed Notes
Moody St. Feeder Dam
May Brook Dam[2] 2009WindsorMay Brook[3]
Robbins Dike Dam2006Plymouth
Red BrookButtermilk BayDam built for trout spawning and cranberry farming.
New Way Dam2008Wareham
Lower Flume Dam2009Wareham
Upper Flume Dam2009Wareham
Beaver Dam Brook Dam2016Plymouth
Beaver Dam BrookCape Cod BayCranberry farming dam.
West Beaver Dam Brook - Lower Berm2020Plymouth
West Beaver Dam BrookIrrigation dams owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
West Beaver Dam Brook - Upper Berm2020Plymouth
Sandwich Game Farm Dam2006East Sandwich
Mill Creek
Curtis Pond Dam2012Middleton
Boston BrookCharles River
Lower Dam2009Rowley
Ox Pasture BrookDam built for recreation. Owned by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game.
Traphole Brook Dam2022Norwood
Traphole BrookMill dam owned by the Town of Norwood.
Charles River Mill Dam (Pearl Street Mill Dam)2017Bellingham
Charles RiverMill dam owned by the town.
Upper Cook's Canyon Dam2006Barre
Galloway BrookChicopee River
Falmouth Rod & Gun Club Dam2021Falmouth
Childs RiverChilds RiverMill dam owned by the Falmouth Rod and Gun Club.
Coonamessett Lower Bog Dam2017Falmouth
Coonamessett RiverCoonamessett RiverCranberry farming dam owned by the Town of Falmouth.
Coonamessett River Lower Dam2018Falmouth
Mill dam owned by the Town of Falmouth.
Middle Bog Dam2020Falmouth
Cranberry farming dam owned by the Town of Falmouth.
International Paper Co. Dam No. 22014Greenfield and Gill
Fall RiverFall RiverIndustrial water supply dam.
Bartlett Rod Shop Co. Dam2012Pelham
Amethyst BrookFort RiverHydropower dam for a fly rod company.
Timber Dam2016Pelham
Mill dam.
Hall Brook Dam2009Adams
Hoxie BrookHoosic River
Briggsville Dam2010Clarksburg
North Branch Hoosic River
Thunder Brook Restoration Project2012Cheshire
Thunder BrookTown water supply dam.
Lower Hathaway Brook Dam2010Dalton
Hathaway BrookHousatonic River
Upper Hathaway Brook Dam2010Dalton
Old Berkshire Mill Dam2000Dalton
Housatonic River
Gravesleigh Pond Dam2013Pittsfield
Sackett BrookDam built for recreation. Owned by the Massachusetts Audubon Society.
Tel-Electric Pond Dam2020Pittsfield
West Branch Housatonic RiverRemoval of the dam required safely disposing of 8,000 tons (7,300 metric tons) of sediment contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyl pollution from a General Electric plant. The project cost around $4 million and benefited an environmental justice community as defined by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.[4]
Lyman Pond Dam2022Southampton
Manhan RiverManhan RiverMill dam. .
Mordecai Lincoln Road Pond Dam (Hunters Pond Dam)2017Scituate
Bound BrookMassachusetts BayMill dam owned by the Town of Scituate.
Balmoral Dam2017Andover
Shawsheen RiverMerrimack RiverMill dam owned by the Town of Andover.
Marland Place Dam (Stevens Street Dam)2017Andover
Atria Senior Living owns mill dam.
Roberts Meadow Upper Reservoir Dam2018Northampton
Roberts Meadow BrookMill RiverWater supply dam owned by the City of Northampton, is considered obsolete and unsafe. The removal opened of cold water stream habitat to trout.[5]
Phillipston Reservoir Dam #12012Phillipston
Thousand Acre BrookMillers RiverWater supply dams.
Phillipston Reservoir Dam #22012Phillipston
Whites Mill Pond Dam2023Winchendon
Tributary to North Branch Millers River[6] [7]
Carding Mill Dam2014Harwich
Cold RiverNantucket SoundMill dam later used for cranberry bog water control.
Gulf Brook Dam2021Pepperell
Gulf BrookNashua RiverMill dam was rebuilt in the 1970s for waterfowl. Owned by the Nashoba Conservation Trust.
Millie Turner Dam2015Pepperell
Nissitissit RiverMill dam.
Sucker Brook Dam2021Pepperell
Sucker BrookDam built for recreation. Owned by the Town of Pepperell.
Bartlett Pond Dam2014Lancaster
Wekepeke BrookOwned by the Town of Lancaster.
Mill Pond Dam2014Hanover
Third Herring BrookNorth RiverThe South Shore YMCA owns mill dam.
Tack Factory Dam2016Hanover
Mill dam.
Unnamed Low Head Dams2022Hanover
Stormwater and sediment control dam.
Peterson Pond Dam2020Hanover and Norwell
Grist mill dam.
Eel River Headwaters Restoration (7 small dams)2009PlymouthEel RiverPlymouth BayCranberry farming dam.
Sawmill Pond Dam2010Plymouth
Wapping Road Dam2011Kingston
Jones RiverHydropower dam.
Elm Street Dam2019Kingston
Hydraulic pumping power dam owned by the Jones River Watershed Association and the Town of Kingston. .
Billington Street Dam2002Plymouth
Town Brook
Off Billington Street Dam2013Plymouth
Mill dam owned by the Town of Plymouth.
Plymco Dam2015Plymouth
Mill dam.
Holmes Dam2018Plymouth
Owned by the Town of Plymouth.
Wellingsly Dam #12012Plymouth
Wellingsly Brook
Wellingsly Dam #22012Plymouth
Wellingsly Dam #32012Plymouth
Hamant Brook Lower Pond Dam2017Sturbridge
Hamant BrookQuinebaug RiverOwned by Old Sturbridge Village.
Hamant Brook Middle Pond Dam2017Sturbridge
Owned by the Town of Sturbridge. .
Hamant Brook Upper Pond Dam2017Sturbridge
Owned by the Town of Sturbridge.
Forge Pond Dam2010Freetown
Assonet RiverTaunton River
Bleachery Dam (Rattlesnake Brook Dam)2016Freetown
Mill dam.
West Street Dam2022Foxborough
Cocasset RiverMill dam owned by the Town of Foxborough. .
Barstowe's Pond Dam2018Taunton
Cotley RiverDam built for recreation. Owned by the Taunton Development Corporation and the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe. .
Hopewell Mills Dam2012Taunton
Mill RiverMill dam.
Whittenton Dam2013Taunton
Mill dam.
West Britannia Dam2018Taunton
Flood control and mill dam.
Carver Cotton Gin Pond Dam2017East Bridgewater
Satucket RiverMill dam.
High Street Dam2023Bridgewater
Town RiverThe structurally deficient dam was the most downstream barrier on the Town River to fish migrating from Narragansett Bay. Its removal opened of river to fish passage as well as of spawning habitat in Lake Nippenicket.[8]
Kinne Brook Dam (Stroud Dam)2014Chester
Kinne BrookWestfield RiverThe removal was a collaboration between Trout Unlimited, the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration, the National Resources Conservation Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and a private landowner. It was part of a larger project to restore of stream, which also involved the replacement of two culverts.[9] [10]
Winchell Dam2016Granville
Westfield RiverWater supply dam owned by the City of Westfield.
Silk Mill Dam2003Becket
Yokum BrookMill dam.
Ballou Dam2006Becket
Mill dam.
Horseshoe Pond Dam2020Wareham
Weweantic RiverWeweantic RiverMill dam. .

Planned and proposed removals

Dam Expected year Location Watercourse Watershed Notes
Talbot Mills DamBillerica
Concord RiverMerrimack River[11]
Veterans Memorial Park DamMarshfield
South RiverMassachusetts BayThe North and South Rivers Watershed Association is working with town, state, and private stakeholders on the South River Restoration Project, which will remove barriers to fish migration on the South River.[12]
Chandler Pond DamMarshfield
Temple Street DamDuxbury

Notes and References

  1. Web site: American Rivers Dam Removal Database . . . 25 August 2023 . 13 February 2023.
  2. Web site: Infrastructure Mobilization Effort - Unreviewed List of Projects Submitted for State Consideration . Commonwealth of Massachusetts . 22 September 2023 . 277.
  3. Web site: Annual Report 2010 . . 22 September 2023 . 67.
  4. News: Munroe-Hultman . Lauri . Former company town turns the page with dam removal . 22 September 2023 . FWS.gov . . 10 January 2023 . en.
  5. News: Dam Removal Underway at Upper Roberts Brook (Northampton) . 22 September 2023 . Mass.gov . . 17 July 2018 . en.
  6. News: Arthen . Inanna . Whites Mills Property Placed on the Market, Asking Price $3.5 Million . 4 January 2024 . The Winchendon Courier . September 7, 2023.
  7. Web site: Whites Mill Pond Dam Decommissioning and River Restoration . www.gza.com . GZA GeoEnvironmental . 4 January 2024 . en.
  8. News: Rehkopf . Anna . High Street Dam Removal . 26 September 2023 . fws.gov . . 18 July 2023 . en.
  9. News: Kinne Brook Dam removed . 22 September 2023 . The Westfield News . 12 October 2014.
  10. Web site: Kinne Brook Restoration Project . tu.org . . 22 September 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160423181944/https://tu.org/tu-projects/kinne-brook-restoration-project . 23 April 2016.
  11. Web site: Talbot Mills Dam Removal on the Concord River . FWS.gov . . 22 September 2023 . en.
  12. Web site: South River Restoration . North and South Rivers Watershed Association . 19 December 2023.

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