This year the Great Marsh Coalition organized a series of workshops, tours and presentations in lieu of the annual symposium. As part of that series, Ipswich River Executive Director Wayne Castonguay led a tour of head of tide dams. The tour focused on the 3 largest tributaries to the Great marsh Area of Critical Environmental Concern: Ipswich Parker and Mill; all of which have a head of tide dams.
A recently completed Mass Bays Barriers Study, led by the Ipswich River Watershed Association, assessed all coastal barriers in the Great Marsh including the head of tide dams highlighted in the tour. Head of tide dams are among the most ecologically damaging things built by humans because they occur at the interface between salt and fresh water, a particularly sensitive habitat.
Each of the 3 dams visited on the tour offered unique examples of the myriad of issues facing individual dams. The Ipswich Mills dam is actively being considered for removal with public engagement efforts ongoing. The Central St dam may be considered for removal in the future and though the Mill River dam cannot be removed, it is being targeted for a modern fishway which it lacks.