Levels Up, Ponds in Great Shape
by Dick Greenan
As of this writing, we are happy to report that, with the exception of Messalonskee and Salmon Ponds, our ponds are still in great shape. Great Pond's Village Dam is currently 0.84″ above full pond with both gates still completely closed. Again, at basically 1″ above full, the water is now flowing over the top of the spillway. Long Pond's Wings Mill dam is 1.56″, also above full pond with both gates also completely shut down. Salmon/McGrath is now 1.8″ below full pond with its single gate opened just the mandated 1 cubic feet per second flow.
Our neighbors on Messalonskee are down 4.08″ below full which is representative of both this dry period and the fact that Essex Hydro uses the Oakland Dam to provide us with electricity. Although we are in another drought, the forecast has just been revised from a dismal 26% lack of precipitation up to now 16% which is good news for our farmers, wells, gardens and of course, our lakes. We'll take what we can get!
We are tentatively going to begin our second and final year of the Wings Mill Dam remediation on or about July 15. You'll want to follow this column for the exact date of the installation of the 100′ long inflatable coffer dam by crane. The coffer dam is being delivered on a flatbed and hung from a crane for installation — it's quite a spectacle!
If you have a particular questions regarding our Dams and/or water levels, please email your inquiry to dickgreenan@outlook.com and we will try to answer your question either in this column or via email.
Enjoy your summer! It's going to be beautiful.
Dick Greenan is secretary to the Belgrade Lakes Watershed Dams Committee. He submitted this report on June 9.
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