Wareham gets grants to plan removal of Parker Mill dam, evaluate sewer system weaknesses

The Town of Wareham received two grants worth $461,000 from the Massachusetts state government to devise a plan to remove the Parker Mills Pond Dam and to study weaknesses in the sewer system.

The grants are part of a statewide effort to improve resilience to climate change. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs will contribute over $45 million to 97 projects across the state through its Environment & Climate One Stop program.

One grant, worth $250,000, is focused on creating an engineering design to remove the Parker Mills Pond Dam. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs said that removing the dam “would eliminate the risk of future dam failure causing catastrophic flooding” in the Tremont Nail Factory District or downtown Wareham.

The announcement is the second grant the town has received for removing the dam this year. In January, the town received a $642,000 grant in 2026 to begin preliminary studies to remove it.

Downing the dam has been a years-long ordeal. It has been classified as a high hazard potential dam since 2014 due to the risk of it failing and flooding parts of Wareham. The structure’s poor state has caused Elm Street to be closed for years.

Wareham has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to determine how to get rid of it, or if that’s even feasible. It hired Fuss and O’Neill, a consulting firm the town hired in 2022 to lead the planning and design. The firm came up with three options, with each option removing more and more of the dam. The town hasn’t followed through with any of these three options yet.

An ownership dispute with cranberry grower A.D. Makepeace, which led to the town suing the company in 2018, stymied progress. Makepeace claimed the town owned 25 percent of the dam. The town dropped the lawsuit in 2019.

The other grant of $111,000 will be used to study coastal hazards that can affect both current and future sewer infrastructure. If the town finds any areas that are susceptible to flooding or other threats, it will come up with one or two alternative designs or siting options, according to the project description.

Wareham Sewer Department Director Scott Kraihanzel, said that addressing these vulnerabilities is a “necessary cost” for a coastal town like Wareham. “This is something that is exceptionally important,” he said.

Many of the system’s lift stations, which raise water from lower to higher elevations, are in flood zones, Kraihanzel said. The Sewer Department will use the grant money to address vulnerabilities such as those.