In the News

SPRINGFIELD — City officials on Tuesday announced plans for a $2.5 million project to improve the Watershops Pond Dam, which is deemed to have “high hazard” potential, posing a flood risk for the South End.

Led by Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, the local officials gathered at the 19th-century dam off Hickory Street to tour the site and announce the federally funded improvement project. The project is now in the design phase, with construction scheduled to begin in 2021 and end by August of 2022.

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, in a statement, said he is thrilled the city was successful in its application for funds under the National Disaster Resilience Competition (NDRC) grant program. The estimated project cost is $2,550,000.

“When you see catastrophic events happening across our country, it emphasizes the need for these types of projects to prevent such events in the City of Springfield,” Neal said.

Sarno said his team had identified the need to rebuild and make resilience upgrades to the dam “to ensure the protection of the residents downstream from this water source.”

Patrick J. Sullivan, the city’s director of parks, buildings and recreation management, said the NDRC grant “accomplishes a significant goal for our city in the rebuilding of this dam and, more importantly, ensures the protection of the South End neighborhood from future flooding events.”

The Watershops Pond Dam is a concrete and masonry gravity dam owned by the city. It dates to 1824, according to the National Inventory of Dams, though other historical records indicate the Mill River was dammed in 1809. The inventory says the Watershops Pond Dam was last inspected in 2016, although city officials said it has been inspected more recently than that.

It was built to supply hydropower to the Springfield Armory, which operated from 1794 to 1968, the city said. In 1969, the federal government sold Watershops Pond and the dam to the city, with the pond conserved for passive recreational use, the city said.

The improvement project will achieve two key goals, Sarno said: removing the Watershops Pond Dam from the state’s “high hazard” category, and implementing energy-efficiency measures by installing solar panels at the nearby Brookings School. In the future, Brookings School can be used as an emergency shelter using electricity produced by the solar panels, officials said.

“Springfield has long been on the cutting edge of climate change and disaster preparedness,” Sarno said. “Since enduring two federally declared disasters in 2011 (a June tornado and October nor’easter), the city has initiated several programs related to community resiliency.”

The city’s Department of Parks, Buildings, and Recreation Management operates and maintains two parks with direct waterfront access to Watershops Pond: Harriet Tubman Park on Hickory Street and Alden Street Park on Alden Street.

The department is also responsible for the operation and maintenance of the dam. The structure is critical to the city’s requirement to maintain the Watershops Pond as a public space, the city said.

“It is a critical safety issue to have this high hazard dam properly repaired,” Sullivan said. “The city completed repairs at the Lower Van Horn Dam last year and this project will ensure all high hazard dams are properly repaired across the city.”

Peter Garvey, the city’s director of capital asset construction, said the project ensures the dam “will maintain its integrity for at least another 100 years.”

“This location holds great history for our city and to be part of the rebuilding of this dam and preserving its history is very special,” Garvey said.