October 27, 2010 - removing Maine dams, or not

Fall foliage over Center Pond, in Phippsburg, Maine.  Center Pond was a tidal marsh that was dammed years ago to facilitate the commercial production of ice.  It's a fine place to paddle.

Dam removal is a hot topic.  On the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, two large dams are currently slated for removal.  In Maine, a number of dams have been removed in the past twenty-five years.  The Maine DEP maintains a list of Maine dams that either have been removed (PDF) or are "currently proposed or under study for removal".  This list presents their status as of January 1, 2010.

Twenty dams are cited as having been removed by that date:

	DAM NAME	LOCATION	AFFECTED WATERS	YEAR REMOVED
1.	Milton Leatherboard Lower Dam	Lebanon, ME & Milton, NH	Salmon Falls River	1986
2.	Bolster’s Mill Dam	Harrison & Otisfield	Crooked River	1987-88
3.	Columbia Falls Dam	Columbia Falls	Pleasant River	1988
4.	Bangor Dam	Bangor & Brewer	Penobscot River	1995
5.	Mast Point Dam	Berwick, ME & Somersworth, NH	Salmon Falls River	1997
6.	Grist Mill Dam	Hampden	Souadabscook Stream	1998
7.	Temple Mill Dam	Hampden	Souadabscook Stream	1999
8.	Brownville Dam	Brownville	Pleasant River	1999
9.	Edwards Dam	Augusta	Kennebec River	1999
10.	East Machias Dam	East Machias	East Machias River	2000
11.	Mill Dam	Corinna	East Branch Sebasticook River	2000-01
12.	Sennebec Dam	Union	St. George River	2002
13.	Main Street Dam	Newport	Sebasticook River	2002
14.	Smelt Hill Dam	Falmouth	Presumpscot River	2002
15.	Sandy River Dam	Norridgewock & Starks	Sandy River	2006
16.	Fort Halifax Dam	Winslow	Sebasticook River	2008
17.	Fields Pond Dam	Orrington	Sedunkedunk Stream	2008
18.	Sherman Lake Dam	Newcastle	Marsh River	2009

19.	Mill Pond Dam	Brewer	Sedgunkedunk Stream	2009
20.	Little River Dam	Lisbon & Topsham	Little River	2009

To these, 2010 has brought at least two additions: the Montsweag Dam, on Montsweag Brook in Wiscasset and Woolwich.  You can watch 19 days worth of demolition work on that dam in a 3-minute time-lapse Youtube video.  Also gone in 2010 is the West Winterport dam on Marsh Stream in Winterport and Frankfort.

June 15,2010 - Maine dam removal: Lower Montsweag Brook Dam

Two Maine dam removal projects recently won funding from nonprofit conservation organization American Rivers and the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Restoration Program. The Maine Council of the Atlantic Salmon Federation won $65,000 to remove the West Winterport Dam on Marsh Stream, a Penobscot River tributary, in Winterport and Frankfort, which will open up 4.5 miles of the stream and restore 20 miles of river habitat.

The other grant was $100,000 to the Chewonki Foundation for the removal of the Lower Montsweag Brook Dam near Wiscasset and Woolwich. This removal will reopen three miles of fish passage and restore the 20 acres of riverine habitat currently flooded by the dam.

Lower Montsweag Brook Dam (map) was constructed by Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company in 1968. The purpose of the 30' tall dam was to impound a backup supply of emergency water for Maine Yankee's nuclear power plant operations.

Chewonki acquired the dam as part of the 2008 Natural Resources Damages Restoration Plan and Settlement Agreement (NRDAR) between Maine Yankee and the State of Maine. As part of that settlement, Chewonki committed to evaluate alternatives for restoring fish passage and riparian habitat in the lower brook.

A feasibility study by Stantec Consulting, Inc., of Topsham, showed that removal of the concrete dam is the most effective and least expensive way to restore fish passage for fish species such as river herring, rainbow smelt, brook trout, and American eel.

Chewonki plans to remove the dam later this summer at a cost of $750,000 to $800,000. A slow drawdown of the impoundment was scheduled to begin in May. This drawdown will allow contractors to inspect the upstream face of the dam and to begin revegetating the impoundment area. Demolition activities will be scheduled to coincide with the low stream flow period of late summer.