South River Fish Passage and Veterans Memorial Park Improvement Project

Veterans Memorial Park in Marshfield, MA is a representation of the Town’s appreciation for all veterans’ service. The park is maintained by local veterans who volunteer their time. The park is home to an iconic waterwheel that is referred to as “the heart of Marshfield”, which runs on the South River. The South River, just downstream of its confluence with Furnace Brook, had a dam and fish ladder that impeded passage of migratory fish to upstream spawning areas. The existing fish ladder required near-daily management and manipulation to provide passage, in particular, to herring migration. Fuss & O’Neill evaluated options for removing the dam while maintaining park aesthetics.

Our water resources engineers performed a feasibility and alternatives assessment that evaluated approaches to remove the dam and the underperforming fish ladder, while protecting and preserving the park’s symbolic heart-shaped memorial lagoon and water wheel.

To accommodate a compressed schedule, the feasibility study included a rapid desktop evaluation of conceptual alternatives, which was used to identify a preferred approach. The evaluation used a comparative criteria assessment of alternatives in which results were presented to, and discussed with, the Town’s DPW and Veterans’ Services staff and park caretaker at a workshop. Our team developed photorealistic renderings of alternatives to help stakeholders understand proposed configurations and to visualize aesthetic compatibility. The workshop was critical in achieving consensus among project stakeholders and, more critically, in initiating successful discussions the property owner bordering the river opposite the park whose support for the project was critical. The selected approach was then further developed through field investigations, hydraulic modeling, and additional design analyses in subsequent project phases.

Fuss & O’Neill led the design of a nature-like fishway that maintains the aesthetic and cultural importance of the park’s memorial lagoon and iconic waterwheel. The design included additional and reconstructed footpaths within the park and pedestrian bridges over channels bordering the river. Additionally, our team assisted with permitting and regulatory compliance and supported the project’s completion by providing bidding and construction administration assistance.

The dam and fish ladder have been removed and replaced with nature-like fishway that restores natural river flows along the park for the first time in 400 years. A local woodcrafter and seven woodworking volunteers constructed the park’s iconic water wheel for the third time in 40 years, through the support of local businesses. Fuss & O’Neill is proud to support the Town of Marshfield’s veterans and wider community in revitalizing this park in its 78^th year since its founding as a memorial and community showpiece. A dedication ceremony for the park’s new waterwheel was held in honor of Purple Heart Day and was attended by veterans, their families, and many members of the community.