Greenfield Electric Light & Power Dam Improvements to Begin Engineering Design

Greenfield Light and Power Dam. Photo by Alix Kaplan/Connecticut River Conservancy.

The Healey-Driscoll Administration in Massachusetts has announced over $10.9 million in grants to repair or remove aging dams, seawalls, levees, and other critical infrastructure across the state. This funding, provided through the Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program, will support twenty-three municipalities and nonprofit organizations in making long-overdue repairs and taking down outdated structures that put homes, roads, and neighborhoods at risk.    

The Connecticut River Conservancy (CRC) is among the recipients, with an award of $180,000 for the first phase of engineering design to alter the Greenfield Electric Light & Power (GELP) Dam and include a Nature Like Fishway (NLF). This design plan would incorporate permanent stabilization of the dam base, including surrounding infrastructure such as sewer lines; address the safety, liability, and maintenance concerns of the deteriorating dam for the City of Greenfield; and provide the ecological benefits of a more natural river system such as fish passage, improved water quality, and greater flood resilience.

CRC is collaborating with the City of Greenfield and The Nature Conservancy to advance this project, with the nonprofits contributing $20,000 in matching funds. Additional local tribal groups and state and federal agencies have supported the proposal and are expected to participate in the implementation. Engineering groups will include Fuss & O’Neil and Princeton Hydro, each having extensive experience in dam improvement and removal projects. 

A Phased Approach

This project will develop engineering design plans to lower the crest of the existing dam, repair walls and support structures needed to maintain the integrity of the Mill Street Bridge, shore up the structural deficiencies in the base of the existing dam that have been temporarily repaired, and stabilize the river channel and banks to protect town utilities while restoring fish passage and a more natural river flow. 

Additional funding will be pursued for the remainder of the engineering design costs and necessary permits. Construction will also require further grant funding. 

Green River Restoration Projects

The CRC and the City of Greenfield (the owners of the Wiley Russell and Greenfield Electric Light and Power Dams) have signed a Memorandum of Agreement to advance the Green River restoration projects which will include partial removal of the Greenfield Electric Light and Power Dam and full removal of the Wiley Russell Dam. 

CRC has met with the Mayor’s Office, Department of Public Works, and Historical Commission to discuss the projects, and has received a letter of support from the Conservation Commission. We have also met with local indigenous leaders and groups to discuss the projects and indigenous sites and cultural history associated with the Green River. Community awareness about the projects has been elevated through a series of recent news articles in the Greenfield Recorder and public meetings. We will continue to engage the community around ecological benefits of dam removal and plan to commemorate history as part of the design/permitting process. Initial data collection tasks have already been completed as part of emergency repairs in December 2024, including an updated topographic survey and wetland delineation.

“The City of Greenfield is thrilled to see this project moving forward,” said Greenfield Mayor Virginia Desorgher. “The health of our community and region is closely linked to the health of our rivers, and completing a partial removal of the Greenfield Electric Light & Power Dam will yield significant benefits for the river’s ecology.”

Ecological Benefits

The Green River is mapped as BioMap Aquatic Core and Rare Species Habitat and is designated as Cold Water Fisheries Resources (CFR) by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. Many species will benefit from barrier removal, as well as from post-removal improvement in water and habitat quality, including both migratory and non-migratory freshwater species. 

Partial removal of the dam will benefit migratory species restoration efforts for American shad, Blueback herring, sea lamprey, and American eel, and cold-water resident species such as Eastern brook trout, white sucker, and other riparian-dependent Species of Greatest Conservation Need identified in the Massachusetts State Wildlife Action Plan. This project in conjunction with the planned removal of the Wiley Russell Dam downstream will open approximately 60 miles of mainstem and tributary streams improving and enhancing access to growth and spawning areas by facilitating seasonal movements upstream and downstream, including the ability to move to seek more ideal conditions as temperatures change (climate resilience), enhancing survival and reproductive success. The project aligns closely with state and federal management and habitat restoration plans for migratory fish in this ecologically important tributary and the Connecticut River watershed. 

A further timeline is not yet available, but receipt of the Dam and Seawall Repair or Removal Program award will serve as a catalyst for moving forward.