LEOMINSTER, MASS. (WHDH) - Some residents in Leominster were asked to evacuate Tuesday morning after authorities came across a “potential issue” involving a nearby dam – one that could endanger the area as surging rains and flood waters inundated the area.
“Due to a potential issue at the Barrett Park Pond Dam, persons in low-lying areas of the Fall Brook tributary to Fall Brook along Central St, Fall Brook & the North Nashua River, should evacuate & safely leave the area. Shelter is available at Skyview Middle School,” the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency announced around 5:40 a.m.
Leominster Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said authorities were monitoring the dam after more than eight inches of rain fell across the city during the evening hours on Monday, with some spots seeing as many as ten inches.
By noontime, the evacuation request was lifted as crews at the scene surveyed a washed out section running along the pond and began to fill it in.
Though the dam remained intact, locals and some city officials told 7NEWS the Barrett Park Pond Dam has been an issue for years.
“It’s still holding – it’s hard to believe,” City Recreation Commissioner Doug Cormier said. “There’s not much left there.”
Cormier said Monday’s storm washed out land around the structure, causing a massive flow of water to head downstream, which took out parts of Pleasant Street and a home.
“We live right across the street from it – it’s been in bad shape for a while, so it’s kind of scary to think that it can impact a thousand people,” a resident said.
7 Investigates recently uncovered some of the worst dams in the state and the threats they pose to people if they fail. The investigation revealed that the Barrett Park Pond Dam is considered to be in poor condition, making it one of the worst in the states.
The dam was given the assessment in November of 2017. In 2021, the city received a $163,000 grant to perform repairs to it, though some believe it needs much more attention.
“It needs it bad, it’s needed it for a long time,” Cormier said. “And it took this [once-in-a-]hundred-year storm to prove it.”
7NEWS reached out the office of Leominster Mayor Dean Mazzarella to learn more about how the 2021 grant funds were spent. Officials with the office have not yet responded.
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