A dam on the Charles River in Natick is slated to be removed. How, when it will happen

Tom Benoit, The MetroWest Daily News
·4 min read
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NATICK — The town is gearing up to remove the Charles River Dam in South Natick, with officials currently working on permitting and design.

Over the past few weeks, town officials have discussed how the South Natick Dam removal project will develop over the next two to five years. Bill Spratt, executive director of Natick's Public Works Department, told the Daily News that progress has been made toward the beginning stages of removal — permitting and design.

"We've done field collection and data," he said. "We have preliminary engineering analysis done. We're probably through 30% design or so."

The dam's removal is expected to take five years and cost about $1.5 million. The permitting and design process will last until summer 2025.

Natick officials have begun the process of removing the Charles River Dam, an aesthetic spillway that has fallen into disrepair.
Natick officials have begun the process of removing the Charles River Dam, an aesthetic spillway that has fallen into disrepair.

The dam vote: Natick Select Board favors breaching Charles River spillway

In 2022, Natick Select Board members voted to remove the dam, an aesthetic spillway and fish ladder that has fallen into disrepair. Breaching the spillway will make the area more resistant to flooding, a concern that has grown in recent years due to more intense weather activity.

Dam removal process will undergo an environmental impact review

Spratt said that as the town gets further along in the design process, it will also start the Massachusetts Environmental Protection Act (MEPA) environmental impact review process. This process, which Spratt says will likely take about two years, involves federal, state and local agencies.

The town will send its MEPA filing to the state this spring, according to Spratt. A 37-day public comment period is then launched before Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper issues a certificate of scope of information to include in the Environmental Impact Report. The town expects the certificate to be issued following the public comment period this spring, and plans to submit the Environmental Impact Report this summer.

The South Natick Dam is classified as a high-hazard dam. In Massachusetts, high-hazard dams are located where failure will likely cause loss of life and serious damage to homes, industrial, commercial facilities, important public utilities, highways or railroads.

"It's important to Natick to make sure we mitigate those risks of having a high hazard," Spratt said. "That would be a good bottom line of why residents should care about this. There's also other things, like the dam has been here for approximately 100 years and we have an opportunity to restore the Charles River to its natural form.

"It has an impact on the town of Natick, from both a liability standpoint, but also a restoration standpoint."

Debate over Charles River Dam's fate was divisive at times

The project was divisive among Natick residents after discussions about repairing or removing the dam were held in 2021.

A group of Natick residents wanted the dam repaired, calling it iconic to the town. However, the dam was never designed to offer flood control, and is purely aesthetic, and the town could be held liable for damage if the dam were to fail.

Some Natick residents, including Artie Doran, left, and Linda Curtis, expressed opposition to removal of the Charles River Dam in South Natick in July 2022, favoring that it instead be repaired.
Some Natick residents, including Artie Doran, left, and Linda Curtis, expressed opposition to removal of the Charles River Dam in South Natick in July 2022, favoring that it instead be repaired.

'Drastic change either way': Ripping debate in Natick over future of Charles River Dam

Local Indigenous leaders have also opposed the practice of using dams. The Nipmuc people lived by and depended on the Quinobequin (now the Charles River) long before dams were introduced. In 2022, nine faith leaders wrote a letter to the Charles River Dam Advisory Committee. One of them, Rev. Dr. Ian Mevorach, founding minister and director of the Common Street Spiritual Center in Natick, previously told the Daily News that he heard from local Indigenous leaders “about the river being sacred, that their ancestors never wanted it dammed, that it should really be restored to its natural state.”

The design cost for the dam's removal is about $250,000, which has been largely covered by a 2023 dam and seawall grant from the state. The total cost of the project will be better defined once the design work is complete, but it's estimated to be about $1.5 million.

Natick officials will continue to pursue grant opportunities to support the dam removal project, according to Spratt.

The town is hosting an online meeting from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on March 5 to discuss Riverfront Park improvements.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Natick begins permitting and design for removing Charles River Dam