Ashburnham seeks $1.2 million grant to remove the Whitney Pond Dam: where the project stands
Six years after Ashburnham residents voted to remove the Whitney Pond dam, construction is projected to start in the summer of 2025.
Preparations for the removal are planned to start next spring and finish in late summer 2025. The timeline is based on whether Ashburnham officials are awarded the $1.2 million to fund the project.
Dr. Jessica Veysey Powell, a Nashua Watershed Association scientist and coordination project manager for the Whitney Pond dam project, said the design phase and gathering all the proper permits are 80% complete.
The town received $140,000 from the dam and seawall repair or removal grant to begin the removal project in 2019. Susie Bresney, a Mass Division of Ecological Restoration specialist, said the grant pays for the design and permitting work for the past five years.
So far, the town has received $45,000 from the Department of Ecological Restoration to pay for community outreach efforts and continue monitoring the dam's water quality in the 2024 fiscal year. Veysey Powell said that after NWA became involved a year ago, the town received another $140,000 from the Inland Dredge program awarded by the Mass Office of Dam Safety.
Veysey Powell said they have submitted four state grant applications and will be notified in late July if the town has been awarded the money. The biggest grant is the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Grant Program, which could cover most of the project's costs.
"I can't predict, but there's a lot of grant money coming into dam removal projects in the state," She said. "The project itself is a good project."
Background
In 2017, during a routine inspection, the Massachusetts Dam Office categorized the Whitney Pond Dam as a significant safety hazard. There is no particular use for the dam any longer; the dam has not been used for hydropower since 1975. The Whitney Pond Dam is located on the Whitman River across Center Street in Ashburnham.
According to the Mass Dam Office inspection done in 2017, if the town does not remove or repair the dam, which is in extremely poor condition according to the routine inspection, it has a high chance of failure, which can cause significant flooding and major damage to homes down the stream.
Over a year ago, the Nashua River Watershed Association and the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration got involved with the dam removal project and staff have helped officials with grant applications, community outreach, and project planning.
How much does Ashburnham need?
In 2018, the decision was made after town officials and residents reviewed a financial analysis that estimated the dam's repairs to cost between $611,000 and $994,000, and the annual maintenance would cost between $8,000 and $15,000.
In 2018, the estimate for removal cost was between $880,000 and $990,000. According to Veysey Powell, the updated dam removal cost is $1.2 million.
Veysey Powell said the removal cost is higher than estimated in 2018 because of inflation. She said the annual maintenance cost would also be higher if they updated the estimate.
However, she said, the town decided it was the most cost-effective decision because it would remove any financial burden from the Ashburnham taxpayers.
What's going to happen after the dam is removed?
Even after the dam is removed, the project is not complete. Wetland restoration is the next phase for the Ashburnham wetlands, which will ensure a healthy environment and prevent future flooding. Vesey Powell said the dam removal benefits not only the safety of town residents but also improves water quality and the overall habit of many native cold-water river fish.
Wetland restoration involves the removal of contaminated soil in the dam impoundment, monitoring fish populations, regrowth of native vegetation and water quality.
This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Whitney Pond Dam in Ashburnham removal grant sought
