The release of the pond water above the South Natick Dam has begun, sending memories and sediment down river and revealing mucky flood plains above.
The town, which decided in 2022 to ditch the dam and spillway rather than fix them, is counting on the river to restore itself in the years to come once the man-made structures are removed in the weeks ahead. There’s a move across the state and country to nix dams in the name of liability avoidance and ecological restoration.
According to the town, a temporary road will be carved into the river above the spillway (aka, former waterfall) and this will allow workers access to remove the spillway this month.
No one was working on the site when we swung by late Tuesday morning, but you can watch the action when it resumes from the Bacon Free Library side. The Grove Park side with trees and picnic benches is off limits to the public during the project.
Don’t think about walking across the bare spillway: Police take notice, according to a sign placed atop it. The thing we’ve taken notice of is an uptick in dam-related memes on local social media forums…
We could swear we heard a heron at the foot of the spillway ask: What the hell?
More: South Natick Dam removal ‘has passed the go/no go point’
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A disgrace? That is a bit impatient. The project is only a week old.
It’s going to turn out great. This summer is the worst part of it but the mud will be gone in a few months.
11500 cubic yards of contaminated sediment to move down river per Army Engineer letter
It is not contaminated if it is allowed to move down river. Also, all that sediment was supposed to move down river naturally but has been held-up by the dam. So the natural sediment moving process is re-starting. That is not a bad thing.
most pathetic and a most expected outcome.
total win of progressiveness in plain view, for everyone to enjoy – mud and devastation.
Interesting to watch the progress. As it dries out, the mud should provide great fertile soil for plants.