An outdated dam in Massachusetts is inching closer to removal after a new round of grants allocated nearly $14 million to support dam and coastal infrastructure projects.
As detailed by The Eagle-Tribune, the funds were made available by the state's Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs' Dam and Seawall Program, and Haverhill will put the money toward removing and repairing infrastructure around the historic Little River Dam.
While the dam was built in the 1800s and once generated hydropower for communities such as Haverhill (which received $1 million from the EEA), it hasn't produced electricity in decades.
Officials fear that the structure poses a growing risk as extreme weather events become more intense and frequent because of warming global temperatures.
According to the report, one study by Dartmouth College estimates that intense rainfall in the Northeast will increase 52% by the end of this century. In the event of a dam collapse, debris and sediment could contaminate the water.
"It does not meet today's standards of dam design and construction," Haverhill Mayor Melinda E. Barrett told The Eagle-Tribune. "In the face of climate change, the dam poses a hazard, so it is to everyone's benefit, especially the surrounding neighborhood, that it be removed."
The Little River project will help ensure the water remains clean, including by making conditions less favorable to toxic algal blooms, according to a Haverhill case study. It will also support biodiversity, similar to other dam removal and river restoration initiatives.
Moreover, per the study, the project is expected to improve recreational opportunities for Haverhill residents, with additional river access via a walking trail, fishing platform, and kayak/canoe launch site among the perks.
This isn't the first round of funds Haverhill has received to remove the run-of-the-river dam at the Little River — a tributary of the Merrimack River, which the Environmental Protection Agency notes provides drinking water to around half a million people in Massachusetts.
In July 2023, the city received $250,000 as part of the design removal initiative, along with another $3 million roughly a year later as part of Massachusetts' climate resilience plan, WHAV reported.
"With the grants we're announcing today, we are empowering municipalities to strengthen their resilience and confidently prepare for whatever storms may come their way," Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said of the funds, which went to 23 municipalities and nonprofits, per The Eagle-Tribune.
Public Works Department director Robert E. Ward told the publication that Haverhill is hoping to begin the Little River project in the summer.
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