North Reading Massachusetts
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Water Levels/Flooding
(From 2003 Reclamation Committee Report)

The Army Corp of Engineers will use a Hydro-Rake in the Ipswich River at the Martins Pond Bridge on Burroughs Road. They are only going to rake approximately 500 feet down the river and hopefully 10 - 20 feet across, as a part of a pilot program.

They will study what is removed and the effectiveness of removal. The aim here is to widen the river by removing the monstrous Purple Loosestrife root balls and other vegetation, so as to open the river for water flow and perhaps, recreational use such as kayaking and canoeing as well.

The report will be presented to the State Representatives who in turn will apply for an Environmental Bond to continue the raking and opening the river for water drainage in an effort to alleviate flooding. This pilot project is being paid for by the North Reading DPW.

Also being studied, is how large to make the culvert at Benevetto's. Benevetto has agreed to upgrade a culvert there for greater water flow but what size, pipes, the design, etc. must be determined.

And what to do about the Rte. 62 bridge in Wilmington. Wilmington has not been willing to replace the old bridge so North Reading paid to have the bridge rated and it failed. Hopefully, this will bring the situation to the State's attention and then, hopefully, the bridge will be replaced with a much larger culvert and/or a better system to prevent the clogging that occurs underneath the bridge that dams the water up in Martins Pond. At the present time, this is the number one problem when it come to flooding on Martins Pond. The culvert under the bridge becomes clogged and backs the water into the pond.

The flood boards located at the bridge are also a problem and meetings with Wilmington have been on going and continue to find a compromise that would benefit both NR (specifically the pond and Wilmington).