South Shore watershed associations, towns and their state and federal partners have been leaders in Massachusetts in improving stream connectivity through dam removals and cranberry bog restoration projects resulting in…
• 21 dam removals and 2 bog restoration projects since 2002
• Opening 12 miles of streams and rivers
• Providing an additional 15 miles of partial access through fish passage structures
Click here to see enlarged map.
We have made progress, but there is still more to do. Overall, 6% of available habitat has been re-opened and 74% of restorable habitat is still blocked by dams.
Dam removal not only improves access for migratory fish like river herring and Eastern brook trout, it also improves water quality, helps maintain streamflow, and improves instream habitat. When river herring can access more habitat, their population increases, providing more food for the animals that eat them like striped bass, bluefish, osprey, and herons.
21 Dams Removed Since 2002
2002 – Water Street Dam and Billington Street Dam, Town Brook, Plymouth
2009/2010 – Eel River Restoration, 8 dams including Sawmill Pond Dam, Plymouth
2011 – Wapping Road Dam, Jones River, Kingston
2012 – Wellingsley Brook Dams (3), Plymouth
2014 – Mill Pond Dam, Third Herring Brook, Norwell/Hanover; Off Billington Street
Dam, Town Brook, Plymouth
2015 – Plymco Dam, Town Brook, Plymouth
2016 – Tack Factory Pond Dam, Third Herring Brook, Norwell/Hanover; Tidmarsh
Farms Restoration (including 3 dams)
14 dams – Have fish passage but still act as impediments to habitat and continuity
9 dams – Currently under consideration for removal, plus one fish passage project
113 Dams Remain – Next Up in Summer 2017
Hunters Pond Dam, Bound Brook, Scituate/Cohasset