In 2014, Massachusetts' JRWA began work to remove a dam sitting 10 feet below the Elm Street Bridge. 5 years later, the Jones River was freed for alewife, eels and trout once again

In Kingston, Massachusetts, a seemingly ordinary structure was standing between the Jones River and a healthier future. The Elm Street Dam, located just downstream of the Elm Street Bridge, had become an obstacle to natural river processes and aquatic life. According to Stantec, the dam was positioned only about 10 feet downstream from the recently reconstructed bridge and had originally formed part of the adjacent Kingston Water Department building. Although its spillway provided an attractive waterfall beside an events facility, the structure substantially impaired ecological resources and required continuing dam-safety inspections and maintenance. In 2014, the Jones River Watershed Association (JRWA) began working with engineering and restoration partners on the complex process of designing, permitting and ultimately removing the dam. Five years later, the Jones River was flowing freely through the former dam site.

The importance of the project becomes clearer when considering the history of the Jones River. The Elm Street Dam was located at the river's head of tide, making it the first dam encountered by migratory fish traveling upstream from the ocean. Massachusetts officials reported in 2019 that the structure had been in place for approximately 300 years. Dams can fundamentally change rivers by slowing water, trapping sediment and altering temperature and dissolved oxygen conditions, while also restricting the movement of fish and other aquatic organisms. Massachusetts' Division of Ecological Restoration explains that dam removal can restore natural connections between aquatic habitats and allow organisms, water, nutrients and sediment to move more freely through river systems.

The ecological stakes were especially significant for diadromous fish—species that move between freshwater and saltwater during their life cycles. The Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration identified alewife, blueback herring and rainbow smelt among the target species that would benefit from removal of the Elm Street Dam. Stantec's project description also lists American eel, brook trout and additional resident and migratory fish among the species expected to benefit.


By eliminating the physical obstruction at the head of tide, the project was designed to improve access to upstream habitat rather than simply create a more natural-looking stretch of water. The goal was to reconnect a functioning river system in which fish could reach different habitats needed for spawning, feeding and other stages of their life cycles.

Getting to that point, however, required years of preparation rather than a single construction project. Stantec says its contribution began in 2014 and included multiple phases of engineering design and permitting support. The JRWA convened a broad project team that included the Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration and NOAA, while additional state and federal agencies and local stakeholders participated in the effort.

This collaboration was important because removing a dam near a bridge and an existing municipal structure requires careful consideration of engineering, water flow, public infrastructure, environmental impacts and permitting requirements. The project demonstrates how river restoration often depends on coordination among nonprofit watershed organizations, government agencies, engineers, municipalities and specialists in fisheries and natural resources.

The Elm Street project was also part of a broader sequence of restoration work on the Jones River. A previous obstacle, the Wapping Road Dam, had been removed in 2011. A Massachusetts feasibility report notes that this earlier removal opened approximately 3.7 miles of Jones River main-stem habitat and 18.3 miles of tributary habitat.

By the time work began on Elm Street Dam, restoration partners were therefore building on an existing effort to reconnect the watershed. The state also noted that a temporary fish ladder installed at Forge Pond Dam in 2019 enabled herring to reach Silver Lake, illustrating how several projects along the same river could work together to improve fish passage rather than treating each barrier as an isolated problem.

Construction on the Elm Street Dam itself began in mid-August 2019 and was completed in October. Massachusetts officials described the removal as the freeing of the Jones River after roughly three centuries of being dammed at the site. Because Elm Street was the first dam from the ocean, its removal was particularly important for connectivity: the state estimated that it would restore habitat access and improve connectivity to more than 24 miles of river habitat for target fish species.

The completion was marked by a gathering of project partners in November, with some participants even kayaking through the former dam location. What had once been a fixed obstruction was becoming an open section of river where water and aquatic life could move with fewer artificial barriers.

The project also illustrates why dam removal is increasingly considered a river-restoration strategy rather than simply demolition. Massachusetts has more than 3,000 dams, many of which were constructed in the 18th and 19th centuries for purposes such as powering mills.

State officials note that many have outlived their original purposes and now require expensive maintenance or repairs. Removing an obsolete dam can simultaneously improve habitat connectivity, restore more natural river processes and reduce long-term infrastructure and safety concerns.

At Elm Street, the former spillway had required dam-safety inspections and maintenance, while its ecological effects extended beyond the immediate footprint of the structure. The project therefore combined environmental restoration with practical infrastructure considerations.

Five years after the Jones River Watershed Association began its work in 2014, the removal of Elm Street Dam delivered a striking example of how long-term planning can translate into visible environmental change. The project did not happen overnight: it involved engineering, permitting, scientific assessment, agency coordination and construction before the final barrier disappeared in 2019.

Today, the story is significant because the former dam site represents more than a demolished structure. It marks the restoration of river connectivity at the head of tide and a renewed opportunity for fish such as alewife, American eel, brook trout, blueback herring and rainbow smelt to use connected habitats. The Jones River project shows how removing an aging barrier can help a river recover its natural movement—and give aquatic species a better chance to move through the watershed once again.