State to consider alteration, removal of Scarborough dam (Printed Jan. 18, 2008)
By Stowell P. Watters
Staff Writer
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques, the state and his organization will be looking into the alteration – or possible removal – of Bayley Dam in Scarborough to address extensive flooding issues in Old Orchard Beach.
“I will do my very best, explore every option. We have to see how much wiggle room we have,” Jacques said at the Jan. 10 Old Orchard Beach Town Council workshop. “There are 100 different questions, what if this, what if that. It is never as simple as it looks to be when you are talking about marshes and wetlands.”
Following his statement the crowd of nearly 40 residents broke into applause. The workshop saw the town council meeting quarters packed as it brought together concerned residents, town councilors, Jacques, Scott Lindsay – a wildlife biologist, Ron Taylor – an engineer with DIFW, along with State Sen. Barry Hobbins (D-York County) and State Rep. George Hogan (D-Old Orchard Beach).
Originally, water flow in the 450-acre marshland next to Pine Point was regulated by a beaver dam, Lindsay said. These beavers were introduced to the area by DIFW to mitigate the flow of the water. The dam as it stands today, was built in 1988 by the DIFW and Duck’s Unlimited in response to a decline in waterfowl habitat. It was rebuilt in 1995 after a major flood damaged it.
Currently it has a crest of five and a half feet, which impedes the flow from the watershed.
Resident Jack Sarno said he is tired of living with flood waters, some of which he said shift the homes, crack the walls and cause mold and electrical problems in houses along both Milliken and Walnut streets.
During the meeting, he voiced his concerns as the spokesman for the Move the Dam/Water Committee. Sarno formed the committee in 2005 as a means of gathering a group of concerned citizens so the town council might meet with them.
The Tidewater Loft Conominiums, where Sarno lives currently have a foot of water standing in the crawlspaces beneath the floors, he said. The bricks that line the walkways are choked with green mosses – vegetation indicative of high levels of moisture, he said. The bulkheads which lead to the lower levels of the units are all sealed, he added, as part of a measure to prevent children from entering the flooded out areas.
“A dam is meant to hold back water and this one does a great job. I also understand that when we have a major rainfall the dam does not restrict the water flow it just runs over the top of the dam because the water table is higher than the top of the dam. We do not have issues with the wildlife habitat in the watershed,” Sarno told Jacques. “Let them stay. They probably were there long before us. Protect us as you are protecting them. Give us back our safe haven.”
At the meeting council chairman James Long cited the $93,000 Milone and MacBroom Inc. study and design recommendations for the Little River – Jones Creek Water Shed, which flows northeast into the Scarborough River.
“The data in the report justifies the removal of the dam,” Long said. “While the removal of the dam doesn’t solve all of the issues, we are hoping it would be the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Long also noted that the dam is not located in Old Orchard Beach, and is privately owned by Fred Bayley, who runs a campground. The DIFW has a right of passage to the dam and does routine checks and maintenance, but the role of Scarborough in these proceedings troubled Long.
“We don’t have the financial capacity to spend $6.2 million on Scarborough, whatever their role may be,” Long said.
But according to Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens, the matter of the dam is completely on the state level. During his tenure as town manager Scarborough helped fund the Milone and MacBroom study. Owens also met with former Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Jim Thomas and the OOB public works department.
“It is a private structure that is controlled and licensed by the state. We are not sure the problems that many of the residents are complaining about are really related to the dam, because some of the studies show the flooded area is just too low and the ability of the water to get out is impeded by the clogging of the outflow channels,” Owens said. “In terms of future development and planning in that area, which isn’t likely to be very much, we would be very careful to make sure nothing would contribute to the problem in Old Orchard Beach.”
As for now, much of the weight lays upon Jacques.
“How could something like this, that affects so many people, go overlooked? Did someone not do something they were supposed to do? I am now looking into all of this,” Jacques said.
Staff Writer
According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIFW) Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques, the state and his organization will be looking into the alteration – or possible removal – of Bayley Dam in Scarborough to address extensive flooding issues in Old Orchard Beach.
“I will do my very best, explore every option. We have to see how much wiggle room we have,” Jacques said at the Jan. 10 Old Orchard Beach Town Council workshop. “There are 100 different questions, what if this, what if that. It is never as simple as it looks to be when you are talking about marshes and wetlands.”
Following his statement the crowd of nearly 40 residents broke into applause. The workshop saw the town council meeting quarters packed as it brought together concerned residents, town councilors, Jacques, Scott Lindsay – a wildlife biologist, Ron Taylor – an engineer with DIFW, along with State Sen. Barry Hobbins (D-York County) and State Rep. George Hogan (D-Old Orchard Beach).
Originally, water flow in the 450-acre marshland next to Pine Point was regulated by a beaver dam, Lindsay said. These beavers were introduced to the area by DIFW to mitigate the flow of the water. The dam as it stands today, was built in 1988 by the DIFW and Duck’s Unlimited in response to a decline in waterfowl habitat. It was rebuilt in 1995 after a major flood damaged it.
Currently it has a crest of five and a half feet, which impedes the flow from the watershed.
Resident Jack Sarno said he is tired of living with flood waters, some of which he said shift the homes, crack the walls and cause mold and electrical problems in houses along both Milliken and Walnut streets.
During the meeting, he voiced his concerns as the spokesman for the Move the Dam/Water Committee. Sarno formed the committee in 2005 as a means of gathering a group of concerned citizens so the town council might meet with them.
The Tidewater Loft Conominiums, where Sarno lives currently have a foot of water standing in the crawlspaces beneath the floors, he said. The bricks that line the walkways are choked with green mosses – vegetation indicative of high levels of moisture, he said. The bulkheads which lead to the lower levels of the units are all sealed, he added, as part of a measure to prevent children from entering the flooded out areas.
“A dam is meant to hold back water and this one does a great job. I also understand that when we have a major rainfall the dam does not restrict the water flow it just runs over the top of the dam because the water table is higher than the top of the dam. We do not have issues with the wildlife habitat in the watershed,” Sarno told Jacques. “Let them stay. They probably were there long before us. Protect us as you are protecting them. Give us back our safe haven.”
At the meeting council chairman James Long cited the $93,000 Milone and MacBroom Inc. study and design recommendations for the Little River – Jones Creek Water Shed, which flows northeast into the Scarborough River.
“The data in the report justifies the removal of the dam,” Long said. “While the removal of the dam doesn’t solve all of the issues, we are hoping it would be the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Long also noted that the dam is not located in Old Orchard Beach, and is privately owned by Fred Bayley, who runs a campground. The DIFW has a right of passage to the dam and does routine checks and maintenance, but the role of Scarborough in these proceedings troubled Long.
“We don’t have the financial capacity to spend $6.2 million on Scarborough, whatever their role may be,” Long said.
But according to Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens, the matter of the dam is completely on the state level. During his tenure as town manager Scarborough helped fund the Milone and MacBroom study. Owens also met with former Old Orchard Beach Town Manager Jim Thomas and the OOB public works department.
“It is a private structure that is controlled and licensed by the state. We are not sure the problems that many of the residents are complaining about are really related to the dam, because some of the studies show the flooded area is just too low and the ability of the water to get out is impeded by the clogging of the outflow channels,” Owens said. “In terms of future development and planning in that area, which isn’t likely to be very much, we would be very careful to make sure nothing would contribute to the problem in Old Orchard Beach.”
As for now, much of the weight lays upon Jacques.
“How could something like this, that affects so many people, go overlooked? Did someone not do something they were supposed to do? I am now looking into all of this,” Jacques said.
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