Saugus-01
“Ballard Street”Saugus, Saugus River
42.450605, -70.982544
Technical Specifications
Basic Properties
- Type
- Flap Gate
- Material
- —
- Control
- —
- Condition
- Fair
- Geometry
- Rectangular
- Status
- Active
- Number of Gates
- 1
Operator & Management
- Operator Type
- PUBLIC
- Operator
- Town of Saugus
- Permits
- —
- Purpose
- —
Dimensions & Elevations
- Dimensions
- 3ft diameter, 5ft height
- Invert Elevation
- —
- Installation Date
- —
- Tidal Influence
- —
Culvert Details
- Restriction Type
- Roadway
- Geometry
- Circular
- Material
- Concrete
- Bottom Material
- —
- Number of Pipes
- 1
- Dimensions
- —
- Condition
- Poor
- Comments
- It is a circular concrete pipe under the road
Salt Marsh Field Assessment Results
Comprehensive field assessment dataPhysical Conditions Assessment
Channel Conditions
- Channel Alteration and Ditching
- Limited (<133 ft/acre)
- Channel Constriction
- Narrower than channel
- Channel Erosion
- Little (<10% of bank)
- Sediment Deposits
- None
Blockages
- Debris Blockages
- None
- Evidence of Overtopping
- No
Ecological Assessment
Habitat Observations
- Ecological Impairment due to Tide Gate
- Severe
- Crab Burrow Intensity
- Limited (<10% banks are densely
- Ponding and Die-off Depressions
- Limited(<10% of marsh platform
- Phragmites Present
- Moderate (10-60%)
Invasive Species
- Upstream Invasive Species
- Yes
- Downstream Invasive Species
- No
- Invasive Species Notes
- Phragmites along channel and to upland boundary.
General Comments
Tide gate is left mostly closed to mimic original leaky tide gate. Phragmites is encroaching into high marsh area and is mixing with native high marsh plant species. Small pockets of low marsh do exist but are mixed with die off areas and encroaching phragmites. Tide gate appears to be retaining excess water.Habitat Transects
First Transect (50 yards upstream of tide gate)
Second Transect (150 yards upstream of tide gate)
Third Transect (300 yards upstream of tide gate)
Restoration Potential
Assessment
- Salt Marsh Impairment due to Tidal Restriction
- Moderate
- Potential Extent of Marsh Restoration
- Moderate
- Implementation Feasibility
- High
- Restoration Priority
- High
- Recommended Improvement Type
- O&M and Infrastructure
Notes
Site shows moderate salt marsh impairment due to restricted tidal flow. Replacement with self-regulating tide gate could restore approximately 5-8 acres of degraded marsh habitat. Good access for construction equipment. Regional coordination completed with town DPW and conservation commission.Historical Records
Environmental Data
- Invasive Species
- Yes
- Restoration Status
- —
- Invasive Comments
- —
- Restoration Comments
- —
- Upstream Area
- —
Notes & Comments
- General Comments
- —
- Operation Plan
- —
- Operation Comments
- initial inventory inspection: Only slightly open - held open with chains that are attached to the culvert December 2021: The permit conditions require monitoring to document maintenance of salt water leakage similar to prior to the repair: insufficient tidal flow similar to the makeshift chained plate of steel which was used as a tide gate by the town since the original cast iron flap gate fell off the concrete headway which was spalling.
- Gate Comments
- initial inventory inspection: Leaking temporary flap gate December 7, 2021 Culvert repair and tide gate project email from Town consultant reports a new head wall on the river side, inlet control on the marsh side, existing pipe cleaned and lined, new adjustable combination tide gate (vertical sluice with a hinge flap gate) installed, cofferdams removed. Awaiting photo documentation and installation of a tide gage.
- Elevation Comments
- This tide gate will not protect against flooding as tide water also reaches the marsh from the Bristow Street east and west culverts and tides exceeding elevation 7-8 will cross over Ballard Street.
- Visit Comments
- —
- Other Comments
- This culvert and tide gate affects water levels at the Ballard Street salt marsh as well as the adjacent Winthrop Shores extraction area. The extraction area has turned partly to wetland dominated by cattail and Phragmites.
- External Data Comments
- —
Part of the Massachusetts Bays Program© 2026 Massachusetts Bays Program. Monitoring tidegates across Massachusetts.