Frequently Asked Questions

• The dam no longer serves its intended purpose – to power the former Ipswich Mills. When the dam was first put into operation over 200 years ago, it was to help power grist mills and lumber mills for food and building supplies during colonial times. It was decommissioned from industrial use in the 1930’s. 
• The dam is a public safety liability for the Town of Ipswich. Even though the dam is officially classified as a low hazard dam by the Office of Dam Safety, it still poses a risk to the public. This memo issued to Ipswich by the State outlines the risks.
• The dam is a financial liability for the Town of Ipswich. Dam owners are responsible for all liability and risks created by the dam, including downstream damage if the dam were to fail. The dam also incurs a suite of annual costs for upkeep, maintenance, inspection and permitting. These costs will continue to increase as the dam ages.
• The river will better be able to handle upstream flooding. The natural flood control abilities of the river will be improved by restoring the natural floodplain. 
• Water quality will improve. The dam disrupts natural processes such as sediment transport, tidal exchange, and flow. This disruption alters the physical and chemical characteristics of the river, making it difficult for native plants and animals to thrive.
• Fish populations will be restored. The dam negatively affects migratory fish passage. The current fish ladder works for certain species of fish – but not for all types of fish that once thrived in the Ipswich River. River herring, shad, American eel, lamprey, rainbow smelt, and sea-run brook trout populations will all benefit from dam removal.

• There are more federal, state, and private dollars available for dam removal projects than ever before. The Ipswich Mills Dam is ranked as one of the highest priority dams to remove in Massachusetts and along the Atlantic Coast. Taking advantage of these dollars will ensure that the Town will not have to bear the annual financial commitment to the dam or be responsible for much larger costs if the dam were to ever fail. 
• We have the opportunity to make a huge impact in the region. In 2022, IRWA and other project partners received a federal grant to address fish passage at 5 dams (four in the Ipswich River watershed and one in the Parker). For the first time ever, that means that every dam on the main stem of the Ipswich River has a plan in progress to improve fish passage and the health of the river. This restoration effort will result in a major step forward in restoring historic fish runs to the watersheds of the Great Marsh. 

Removing the Ipswich Mills Dam will free the tide – resulting in restoring the rarest aquatic habitat type in Massachusetts – a tidal, freshwater wetland. Most natural river ecological processes typically recover to natural pre-dam conditions within the first year following removal, and no significant negative ecological impacts have been identified.

Both the partial feasibility study (completed in 2014), the full feasibility study (completed in 2019) and subsequent mitigation studies concluded there were no significant technical, legal or infrastructure risks associated with dam removal. This includes risk to the EBSCO facility, which would be easily mitigated as part of the project.

The tide will extend another 1.5 miles upstream. The river depth in this area will go up and down seasonally based on river flow and ocean tide.

Low flow conditions in the Ipswich River are exacerbated by municipal and private water withdrawals outpacing the available groundwater in the watershed. These issues are complex and are currently being addressed by the Ipswich River Task Force. The Task Force is a group of municipalities, water suppliers, and legislators working to make sure the river has the water it needs. This is expected to be improved along a similar timeline as dam removal, which will improve water levels in the river during periods of drought and regular summer low flow.

All feasibility studies have been completed.

The next step will be filing with the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) By law, the permitting process must ensure that there are no significant environmental impacts and that any risk to the public or property must be mitigated. At a minimum, the project will require 9 permits and regulatory and construction oversight by local, State and federal agencies.

The Town and its project partners will continue to hold public informational meetings throughout the process. All project related reports can be viewed on the Towns Planning department Project Page.  

Please feel free to contact:

Frank Ventimiglia, Ipswich Department of Public Works

Neil Shea, Restoration Program Director, Ipswich River Watershed Association