The Watertown Dam, located 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. In this community meeting, the DCR project team will present information on the findings of the study and possible future design alternatives for modifications to the dam, including potential removal of the dam. All members of the public are invited to attend this third public meeting associated with the study project.
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. Please note that the content of comments you submit to DCR, along with your name, town, and zip code, will be posted on DCR's website. Additional contact information required when commenting, notably email address, will only be used for outreach on future updates on the subject project or property.
For over 400 years, the Charles River has been altered, controlled, and dammed to bend to the will of industry and development. The consequences are numerous– today the river suffers impaired water quality, loss of habitat, impeded fish passage, invasive species growth, contaminated sediment, and harmful cyanobacteria blooms, all of which are exacerbated by nineteen dams that interrupt the flow of the Charles River on its eighty-mile journey from source to sea, including the Watertown Dam.
With climate change bringing more frequent and severe storm events, the outdated and no longer needed mill dams are in dire need of costly repairs and are increasingly susceptible to failure in severe storm events.
In 2024, the DCR project team hosted two public meetings to share the preliminary results of the ongoing study and possible future alternatives for modifications to the dam, including removal. Watch a recording of the first meeting from July 9, 2024, or review the presentation slides from the second meeting on September 25, 2024.