Marshfield, Duxbury receive grants to remove two South River dams 7-25-18
Marshfield, Duxbury receive grants to remove two South River dams
Wicked Local Marshfield
By Kate Walsh
Posted Jul 25, 2018 at 9:37 AM
Updated Jul 25, 2018 at 9:37 AM
Marshfield and Duxbury have received a grant totalling $12,000 for river and wetland restoration projects.
The two towns plan to use the grant money to remove two dams from the South River.
The announcement was made by the Baker-Polito Administration earlier this month, through the Department of Fish and Game's Division of Ecological Restoration's Priority Projects Program.
The DER provides projects with grant funding, contracted technical services for wetland and river restoration, project management, streamflow restoration projects and urban river revitalization.
Officials from both towns are working with the North and South River Watershed Association and the DER to figure out how to remove the dams.
The two dams are Veterans Pond Dam at the mouth of the river and in Marshfield and Temple Street Dam in Duxbury.
"The dams, especially the one in Veterans Park in Marshfield, are preventing fish migration as they can't get over the fish ladder," Samantha Woods, the executive director for the North and South Rivers Watershed Association.
The project seeks to increase municipal resilience to climate change, improve water quality and to help migratory fish such as river herring and American eel.
"Through the commitment of the Commonwealth and local stakeholders, residents and visitors alike will have improved opportunities for shellfish harvest, fishing, boating, birdwatching and other outdoor activities," said Ron Amidon, commissioner of the Department of Fish and Game.
The dam in Marshfield was installed for the purpose of hydraulic power but it has since outlived its original intent, with various other means of generating power being available, such as electricity.
With the removal of the dams, fish will be able to migrate upstream to their traditional mating areas as well as combat flooding issues downstream.
"This grant for dam removal will allow the North and South Rivers Watershed to safely adapt to climate change in a way that preserves both ecological health and water quality," State Sen. Patrick O'Connor, R-Weymouth, said.
The removal of the dam in Marshfield also opens up the possibility of modernizing the memorial of Veterans Park.
"We're hoping to initiate changes in the lagoon and its features," Bill Grafton, the administrator of Marshfield's Conservation Commission, said. "We may have to change the exterior boundaries of the park as well as its infrastructure. We're looking for a low environmental impact, yet modernized memorial with the removal of the dam."
In Veterans Memorial Park, the removal of the dam would improve and maintain the water wheel, the fountain and the bleeding heart layout of the pond.
"The bleeding heart lagoon is symbolic to the veteran community in Marshfield," Grafton said. "Without the veterans, we wouldn't have our freedom."
Early designs for the park would keep the bleeding heart layout but close the gap at the bottom of the heart by few feet to allow a footbridge to create a circular walking path around the park.
"We hope to get a joint grant for the veterans memorial that both improves our ecological values and our veterans values in removing the dam," Grafton said. "The group that has been working together on this project has been very collaborative. The NSRWA, the DER, the veterans and town officials are working to achieve all of our goals."
The current grant money will be used for design plans to remove the dams and spread the word about the project.
The group working on the project will search for more funds that would allow the key figures involved to reach their objective of improving the Veteran's Park memorial as well as to physically remove the dams.
Follow Kate Walsh on Twitter at @MarinerKate.
