LYNN — The Healey-Driscoll Administration announced a $200,000 grant to the Lynn Water and Sewer Commission for its South Middleton Dam Removal Project.
The Commonwealth awarded more than $2.4 million to 19 municipalities, funded by the Department of Fish and Game’s (DFG) Division of Ecological Restoration (DER).
These grants will “strengthen community resilience to climate change, reduce flood risks, improve infrastructure and public safety, and restore crucial wildlife habitat and water quality,” according to a press release from the administration.
LWSC is one of two municipalities to receive funding through the DER’s Priority Projects Program. “This program supports wetland and river restoration that will have the greatest benefit to the state ecologically, socially, and economically,” according to the release.
“We are proud to support these projects and work hand-in-hand with partners to achieve our shared restoration goals,” DER Director Beth Lambert said in the release. “We are excited to see communities tackle these much-needed projects and look forward to the many benefits ecological restoration will bring to Massachusetts’ people and environment.”
The South Middleton Dam Removal Project on the Ipswich River in Middleton will remove a Significant Hazard dam in Poor Condition to reconnect 57 miles of “river and tributary habitat for resident and migratory fish,” according to the release. “This award will support the rehabilitation of the City of Lynn’s drinking water intake facility located upstream of the dam, which would otherwise be impacted by its removal.”
The LWSC takes drinking water from the Ipswich River six months of the year, from December to May, LWSC Executive Director Dan O’Neill said.
Removing the dam will decrease the amount of drinking water by half, he said. The grant funding for the South Middleton Dam Removal Project will be used to renovate the pumping station on the Ipswich River.
The LWSC also takes up to 8.91 million gallons of water per day year-round from the Saugus River, Lynn’s primary source of drinking water, O’Neill said.
“We appreciate this grant funding that will help offset the cost of making necessary upgrades to the pumping station that provides the City drinking water,” O’Neill said.
“We continue to be grateful for the partnership the City has with the Healey-Driscoll administration. The governor and her team have consistently shown a willingness to support cities and towns in their efforts to improve the quality of life for all residents. This grant, which will assist us in continuing to provide high-quality drinking water, is the latest example,” Mayor Jared C. Nicholson said.
