News

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs awarded the Town of Canton $1M in grants and low-interest loans from the Dam and Seawall Repair and Removal Fund, created in 2013 to address public safety issues caused by aging infrastructure. Stephens Associates Consulting Engineers, LLC (SA) assisted the Town in preparing the funding application for design, permitting and reconstruction of the Neponset River Flood Reduction System (Levee). The Town has a long-established relationship with SA, the Project’s dam engineering consultant and designer, to serve the Town’s dam and levee engineering needs. SA is a certified DBE/WBE small business by the Massachusetts Supplier Diversity Office and has inspected, evaluated and/or designed repairs for virtually all the Town’s dams and levees.

The Project consists of the Neponset River Flood Reduction System (Levee) that protects public and private land, utilities and infrastructure in downtown Canton from floods on the East Branch of the Neponset River. Repair of the Flood Reduction System (Levee) is critical to protecting Priority Revitalization Area located in Canton Center Economic Opportunity District (as well as other properties) and the people who will inhabit it upon imminent redevelopment from flooding, thereby reducing risk of loss of life and property damage, protecting public safety, and fostering revitalization through investment in this vital district. The adjacent former Plymouth Rubber Company property is now largely vacant, consisting of ruins of demolished buildings, several former manufacturing buildings, and historic buildings of the old Paul Revere Copper Mill spanning an area of about 36 acres. In the end, the revitalization of the area will provide economic development, housing and commercial opportunities in Canton Center, preserve historic buildings, and provide public access/open space that will benefit the Town and further enhance the adjacent downtown.