At a city hall press conference Friday, Department of Conservation & Recreation Commissioner Brian Arrigo said federal pandemic relief is funding the new initiative.
“Today, we are celebrating the investment of $25 million in ARPA funding to remove eight unsafe dams in Western and Central Mass, including $20 million for the removal of the Bel Air Dam, an abandoned high hazard dam,” he said.
The other $5 million will be used to remove seven dams managed by the Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game — including another Berkshire dam, Weston Brook Dam in Windsor.
“For over a decade, DCR has worked closely with our partners in Pittsfield and devoted significant time and energy to maintain Bel Air Dam, to ensure that the downstream community – an environmental justice community – is not impacted by its potential failure, which would of course devastate the area, potentially cause loss of life, substantial damage to surrounding homes and businesses, as well as put the health and wellbeing of residents at risk by exposing them to contaminated sediment," Arrigo continued. "So, this funding – and I don't say this lightly – this is life-saving for the community. And without this funding, the disaster that could happen is unthinkable.”
Bel Air Dam, which sits off Wahconah Street in Pittsfield just north of the city’s core, will be the first abandoned dam removed by DCR under the program.
“Removing this dam will restore the natural ecology of the area for wildlife and the west branch of the Housatonic River and ultimately create new opportunities for recreation along the river,” said Arrigo.
The project’s announcement follows a brutal summer for the region. Heavy rains and flooding decimated municipal infrastructure in North Adams – which has yet to receive state aid for the millions it will take to repair the damage – and wreaked havoc on farms.
“This year, we've seen record rainfall and flooding. This is a reminder of how critical it is that we invest in addressing our dam infrastructure," said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “The removal of these eight dams is a tremendous example of how we can increase climate resilience and mitigate the effects of climate change, all while improving habitat, water quality and biodiversity.”
“These projects are really, really critical also for restoring habitat for fish and wildlife, they do increase biodiversity, and largely all of this is because they improve the water quality and the flow, and which is also, at the same time, providing the benefits of public safety and resilience, which I think we all know is more critical than ever,” said Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea. The DFG carried out its own dam assessment in 2019.
“We determined that 14 out of the 34 dams needed to be removed for the benefit of fish, wildlife, and people," O’Shea said. "And so far, since that time, we have removed two of these dams and we've advanced many others as well. And so today with the more than $5 million provided from ARPA funds, we are ready now to remove seven more dams by June of 2026. So, that's a really accelerated timeline for anyone who knows about dam removal.”
O’Shea says the move is particularly important for the cold-water fisheries of Massachusetts.
“These are areas that are particularly vulnerable and habitat particularly vulnerable to climate," he explained. "And so, we're really helping to support brook trout and other species that need this type of habitat. We really think that removing aging dams is a common-sense solution to the challenges given that they have so many long-term maintenance costs, liability, flooding, water quality, and climate adaptation challenges.”
Taking questions from reporters, Arrigo said the DCR didn’t have a firm timeline for the Bel Air Dam removal project.
“It'll be a multiyear process, starting with permitting and some of the groundwork that needs to happen," the commissioner said. "So, this will take over a course of a number of years for us to get to the point where the dam is officially removed.”
Mayor Linda Tyer welcomed the administration’s dam removal project kicking off in Pittsfield, noting the city recently completed the removal of the Mill Street Dam.
“We would not be here today, though, if not for the hard work and persistence of our city staff," she said. "So, I would like to give a special thanks to Jim McGrath, the city's manager of parks, open space and natural resources, and to Rob Van Der Kar, the city's conservation agent, who's also here. And I guess our city attorney had some help, provided some help in getting this over the finish line. Always always need a lawyer. But I would like also to recognize our chair of our conservation commission, Jim Conant, who is also a member of the city council.”
The Office of Dam Safety, operated by the DCR, is charged with maintaining records of the conditions of dams across Massachusetts.
