A River Runs Free Again

West Britannia Dam on the Mill River in Taunton, MA. The dam is being removed in January 2018. Photo credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

This month marks a big accomplishment for a persistent team that has been working to restore habitat connections in the Mill River in Taunton. The West Britannia Dam is being removed marking the last step in restoring migratory fish access to the headwaters of the Mill River. Access that hasn’t been possible for nearly 200 years!

Just a few years ago this tributary to the Wild and Scenic Taunton River had three obsolete dams along its course and a fourth dam at its source. Very soon all three dams along the Mill River will be gone, leaving clear access to the remaining dam (and rebuilt fishway) at the river’s source at Lake Sabbatia. That is an enormous accomplishment for both the ecosystem and for public safety.

The project grew out of a public safety scare in 2005 when flood waters nearly caused one dam to fail, prompting the temporary evacuation of nearly 2000 people from their homes. In 2012, the first of the three dam removal projects was completed as part of a comprehensive river restoration plan.

As we continue to move forward with our long-term plans to restore habitat connections and improve public safety in the Ipswich watershed, I am encouraged to see successes like this. When I first visited the Mill River in 2010, I was excited to see the potential, but admittedly was not convinced I would see all three dams gone in by 2018. It is a testament to what purpose, persistence and careful planning can accomplish. A little good luck doesn’t hurt either!

Congratulations to the project team. Nice work. We plan to be congratulating many of the same team members when we celebrate the first mainstem dam removal on the Ipswich River.

2 thoughts on “A River Runs Free Again”

  1. re: the Shawsheen River. do you know of any plans to remove (or install fish ladders at the two dams on the river?

    thanks

    wright Gregson

  2. i did a bit of searching and discovered that the Shawsheen runs into the Merrimac River, not the Ipswich river as I had assumed.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *