IPSWICH MILLS DAM-old

Owned by the Town of Ipswich, this dam is the first encountered along the Ipswich River and is located just 3.7 miles upstream the mouth of the river in downtown Ipswich. Located at the ‘head-of-tide’ this dam represents a hard stop between fresh river water and the influence of saltwater and is the first dam encountered by returning migratory fish runs. This transition is ecologically destructive because freshwater animals cannot return back to riverine conditions due to the physical barrier of the dam and migratory species do not have the benefit of a gradual change in water chemistry. The granite block dam was originally constructed to power adjacent mills yet currently has no functional use. A fishway was installed in 1995, but it is not effective for some migratory species such as rainbow smelt and American shad. The Division of Ecological Restoration ranks this dam in the top 5% of all dams in Massachusetts for the restoration potential of removal- given it would open 49.19 miles of habitat, restore a freshwater tidal habitat and remove a head-of-tide dam.