Riparian Restoration

McTaggart’s Pond Dam Removal & Phillips Brook Restoration Project: Fitchburg

WPI students looking through a stream culvert

Reconnecting Phillips Brook: Dam Removal and Ecological Restoration

The NRWA is supporting the City of Fitchburg in its efforts to remove McTaggart’s Pond Dam on Phillips Brook, a high-priority project for the City. The NRWA views dam removal on a case-by-case basis. Each dam, community, and waterway has its own unique set of circumstances that need to be fully understood during the decision-making process. In the end, the decision to repair or remove must be made by the dam owner. In this instance, the City of Fitchburg is the dam owner and has made the decision to remove McTaggart’s Pond Dam.

NRWA’s role in this project is to:

Collaborate with project partners to prepare grant proposals, as needed, to secure construction funding
Conduct community outreach to provide residents and business owners with information on the dam removal process and the benefits of removing this dam in order to aid a better understanding of the project and its goals
Monitor water quality and fish communities both before and after removal and restoration
Restore native plant communities in the former pond and streambank areas once the dam is removed
Act as an administrative project coordinator

NRWA’s work is being supported with funding from a private foundation.

About McTaggart’s Pond Dam

McTaggart’s Pond Dam, owned by the City of Fitchburg, is located on Phillips Brook, approximately one half mile upstream from the brook’s confluence with the North Nashua River in Fitchburg, MA. It lies southwest of Rt. 12, near the Rt. 12 intersection with Sanborn Street.

Maps showing location of McTaggart’s Pond Dam. Click on this link for a larger Google map view.

The dam is a 24-foot high earth and concrete structure constructed for industrial purposes in 1928. It was later used for recreation, undergoing repairs in the 1950s. Today, it is no longer used for industry, and is only infrequently used for recreation. The National Inventory of Dams lists McTaggart’s Pond Dam as a Significant hazard in Unsafe condition.

Image at right: McTaggart’s Pond Dam in the 1950s.

In 2018, the MA Office of Dam Safety determined that the dam did not meet safety standards, and posed a potential threat to downstream buildings, infrastructure, and local residents. To reduce the risk of dam failure and the threat to public safety, the City of Fitchburg lowered the level of the impoundment (pond behind the dam) by opening the outlets.

In 2020, an engineering firm completed an Alternatives Analysis, a study which is used to determine whether repair or removal would be the best option for the dam. The Analysis includes an examination of the costs and benefits for each option. The Analysis showed that removal was the best course of action to achieve the greatest safety and ecological benefits, and minimize the long-term costs to the City. View the Tighe & Bond McTaggart’s Pond Dam Alternatives Analysis Final Report, due to its size (190 pg), this document is posted in four parts. Alternatives Analysis- Part 1 (pg 1-51); Alternatives Analysis- Part 2 (pg 52-102); Alternatives Analysis- Part 3 (pg 103-150); and Alternatives Analysis- Part 4 (pg 151-190).

In 2022, an engineering firm began drafting final design plans to guide the removal of McTaggarts Pond Dam.

In 2024, the City retained Fuss & O’Neill, an engineering firm with expertise in river restoration, dam removals, environmental permitting, and hydrology, to complete the design and permitting for dam removal. The potential impacts of the dam removal on both upstream and downstream areas has been studied, including the sediment composition in the impoundment behind the dam, and existing fish and other aquatic life in the project area.

As of late 2025, permitting is nearly complete, with only one permit still in process. Once all permits are in hand, the project team will be able to apply for funding for the removal process, also known as construction.

Benefits of Removal

Removing McTaggart’s Pond Dam will:

Eliminate the public safety risks of a dam failure
End Fitchburg taxpayer spending on dam maintenance and repair
Improve water quality
Restore habitat for fish, birds, and other wildlife

Phillips Brook, a tributary to the Nashua River, provides critical habitat for coldwater fish species like native brook trout. Removing the dam will improve water quality and reconnect 5.65 miles of habitat, allowing fish, water, and nutrients to move freely along this section of the brook once more. Dam removals may change the landscape you have been familiar with, but they result in important long-term ecological benefits.

Dam Removal Process

Removing McTaggart’s Pond Dam will involve:

Breaching the dam
Drawing down any ponded water behind the dam at a slow rate
Removing the majority of the dam to allow stream flow during heavy storms to pass safely
Restoring the riverbank and wetlands
Monitoring fish populations, the stream channel, and plant regrowth

The previously impounded area, which created the historic pond, will continue transitioning to a healthy emergent wetland (photo right), with the restored Phillips Brook channel running through the center.

For a general overview of the dam removal process in MA and the benefits of dam removal, view NRWA’s “Dam Removals in MA” (32 min).

To learn more about the technical side of the dam removal process and considerations for dam owners, view NRWA’s “Fundamentals of Dam Removal for Dam Owners and Municipalities” (64 min).

Example of a Dam Removal: Before and After

Recently, the NRWA partnered with the Town of Ashburnham, the MA Division of Ecological Restoration, and Pare Corporation on the Whitney Pond Dam Removal and Whitman River Restoration Project that has many similarities to the McTaggart’s Pond Dam Removal Project. The images below show the site before and after removal of the dam, an example of how landscapes evolve following dam removals and ecological restoration. View additional images and read more about this project.

Community Outreach

The NRWA will be conducting outreach throughout the community, to both residents and businesses. The focus of outreach will be to share details on the removal process and benefits of removal, to make this project transparent and understandable for the community. This webpage will be maintained throughout the project in order to share up-to-date photos and descriptions of progress.

On June 9, 2025, the NRWA made a free presentation at the Fitchburg Public Library on the dam removal process in MA and the benefits of dam removals. NRWA staff had an information table at the Fitchburg Civic Days event on July 3, 2025.

Important Studies and Design Plans

McTaggarts Pond Dam Permitting Plans 2024 [DRAFT]

Hydrologic & Hydraulic Analyses McTaggart’s Pond Dam Removal and Phillips Brook Restoration Project Fitchburg, MA, due to its size (236 pg), this document is posted in four parts. McTaggart’s H&H- Part 1 (pg 1-62) McTaggart’s H&H- Part 2 (pg 63-128) McTaggart’s H&H- Part 3 (pg 129-183) McTaggart’s H&H- Part 4 (pg 184-236)

Permitting

Local, state, and federal permits are essential to ensure that the proposed project complies with all relevant regulations.

The following permits have been secured for this project:

MA Office of Dam Safety Chapter 253 Dam Safety Permit (Permit #: 294-2025-464; Issued: 10/21/2025).
MA 401 Water Quality Certification for Dredge and Fill (DEP WQC APPLICATION: 24-WW26-0013-APP; Issued: 12/23/2024) and related documents, including: McTaggart’s Pond Dam Removal and Phillips Brook Restoration Project Combined 401 Water Quality Certification Application for Dredge and Fill (dated 2/23/2024), due to its size (210 pg), this document is posted in four parts: McTaggart’s Dredge/Fill- Part 1 (pg 1-48), McTaggart’s Dredge/Fill- Part 2 (pg 49-105), McTaggart’s Dredge/Fill- Part 3 (pg 106-160), and McTaggart’s Dredge/Fill- Part 4 (pg 161-210); MA 401 WQC Response Letter (dated 12/13/2024); and Sediment Management Plan (dated 12/13/2024) .
MA MEPA Review Project is Exempt (Notice Issued: 3/28/2023)
Restoration Order of Conditions (under the MA Wetlands Protection Act; File #CE 155-767; Issued: 11/17/2025)
US Army Corps of Engineers – Section 404 (File #: NAE-2022-01684; Issued: 11/24/2025)
MA Chapter 91 License and Permit (in process)
MA Historical Commission Determination (RC#: 71196; Issued: 3/24/2022)