Charlie Breitrose The Watertown Dam near Watertown Square slows the flow of the Charles River. A group is advocating removing the dam.
The following announcement was provided by the Charles River Watershed Association:
The Watertown Dam on the Charles River is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) has engaged an engineering consultant to perform a dam removal alternatives analysis study for potential future actions at the Watertown Dam. Join the community meeting this Thursday, November 20, where the DCR project team will present findings from the study and possible future design alternatives for modifications to the dam, including potential dam removal.
All members of the public are invited to attend this third public meeting associated with the study project.
WHEN: Thursday, November 20, 2025, from 7:00 – 8:30 PM
WHERE: Watertown Free Public Library, 123 Main Street, Watertown
After the meeting, the presentation will be available for viewing on DCR’s Past events for DCR Public Meetings Information web page.
DCR encourages the public to share additional feedback, with a deadline for receipt of comments by DCR of December 19th, 2025. Comments may be submitted via the DCR public comment portal.
Learn why CRWA supports the removal of the Watertown Dam (click here)
As a volunteer fish counter for the CRWA, I can swear to the difficulty fish have in passing up the Watertown dam ladder (no shad pass, for example). Not only does the dam prevent fish from reaching their instinctive breeding pools, but communities upriver (Nipmuc, Wampanoag, et al) are robbed of a traditional resource. It may be fun to watch gulls and herons feasting on fish trapped below the dam, but it’s hardly a fair fight. They might as well be in a barrel.
Does the dam prevent flooding? Hardly, it’s just a spillway. Indeed, if it failed in a big storm, the surge would threaten homes and businesses a long way downstream.
Like many, I love the riverscape immediately upstream: the backed up water creates a beautiful setting. But entirely manmade. I would sacrifice that view for Nature’s own vista: a lower river running freely through in its natural course. Other towns have done it, and found that Nature claims her realm back remarkably quickly.
We are blessed beyond measure to live alongside a river. Let’s return some of that blessing back to the river itself. Remove the dam.
Agree completely. Pouring money into repairing a dam that serves no functional purpose only ensures you’ll have to keep doing it in the future. Dams fail typically under stress, the worst possible time for flooding. Managed removal has worked safely without creating flooding issues across the state, the nation and the world.
Thanks to all who attended this meeting. DCR received a lot of very positive and informed feedback about the community’s desires about the possible removal of the dam. For those who didn’t get to the hearing, the public comment period remains open until December 19th.
See: https://www.mass.gov/doc/watertown-dam-removal-alternatives-analysis-community-meeting-3-invite-11202025/download
In addition, we expect to host a final public meeting on the study findings in spring 2026.
Paul Fahey
Director of Partnerships
Department of Conservation and Recreation