Indian Head River Restoration Update Meeting

When: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 at 7pm

Where: Hanover High School Media Room 125 (main floor, just before the cafeteria)

Click here to register to attend in person.

Zoom option also available. Click here to register for the Zoom.

What: Interested in the potential dam removal projects at Ludden’s Ford Dam (Hanover-Pembroke) and the State St./Cross St. Dam (Hanover-Hanson)? 

Concerned about the health of the Indian Head River? 

Questions about the long-term liability associated with these dams?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, join us on Tuesday, December 5 at 7pm for an update from the Indian Head River Restoration project partners. At this session, we will present findings from the recently completed Feasibility Study, including cost impacts, sediment sampling results, 40% design proposal, and  post-removal renderings.

Project Background

For the last few years, the North and South Rivers Watershed Association (NSRWA) has worked with the towns of Hanover, Hanson and Pembroke to better understand the impacts of potentially removing Ludden’s Ford Dam and State St./Cross St Dam to reconnect and restore the natural flows of the Indian Head River, and to restore river habitat.

These two dams were built to support industries that no longer exist but their negative impacts on the river remain, such as:

• Increased water temperatures which can lead to a decline in the coldwater species that rely on that habitat.
• Barrier that blocks fish passage for both anadromous fish – such as river herring and Atlantic shad – that need to travel upstream from the ocean for their spawning grounds, and fish that simply use the river to get from place to place – such as eels and brook trout.
• Sediment gets trapped and builds up behind the dams.

Removing these dams will reconnect free-flowing rivers and reduce liability for dam owners while restoring habitat for river herring, American shad, Eastern native brook trout and other species whose populations have been significantly impacted by the loss of river habitat.

To Learn More

NSRWA Indian Head River Restoration Page

Follow #LetOurRiversFlow on Facebook and Instagram

Indian Head River Restoration Story Map:

This project was funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Natural Resource Damages Trust as administered by MassDEP.