Online News from BLIMP

2007 DAM ISSUES
NEWFIELD SELECTMAN’S MEETING
09/25/07

Hello folks, attached is a summary of my meeting with the selectmen last Tuesday night concerning the Balch Lake Dam.

Water Level Drops 13 inches

* First and foremost on my agenda was the situation that occurred last week where the water level at Balch was dropped 13 inches!! On the previous Staturday 09/15/07, a rainy day, I had received a number of calls from all over the lake that the water level was to high. On my way to the BLIMP Meeting I checked the dam and the water level was 3” to high. I then called Frank Demeritt, the Newfield Selectman responsible for the Dam and asked him to drop it 3”. Frank opened the Dam later that Sat. afternoon and unfortunately did not return to close it until sometime the following Thursday, ( Five Days!). The water level was down 13” which couldn’t have happened at a worse time! Many Balch Laker’s had planned to take their boats out of the water that weekend and found either their boats sitting on sand or because of the large drop in the water level, had their boat “hanging” from their docks requiring them to cut the ropes holding the boats to the dock! Also, a number of folks had their boats “grounded” in their boathouses and a number of people couldn’t get out of Wyman’s Cove who normally use the Marina ramp to take their boat out. These were just some of the issues that this very big mistake caused.

I reviewed at length with the Newfield Selectman the above issues and told them this is totally unacceptable!! After some discussion they told me “It was a mistake and it won’t happen again!” Hopefully they will pay much closer attention and I feel the below agreements that we got from them will help eliminate additional screw-ups!

Looking Upstream

My first meeting with the Newfield Selectman back on Sept. 4th, I told them that BLIMP’s primary purpose of working closely with them is we want to have “consistant” water level both in the summer months and the winter months. One of the first things Frank Demeritt brought up was that he got very little Communication with the Belleau Lake people about when and how much water they were letting out of their Dam, I told him I would follow that up and report back to him. With the help of Russ Chick I was able to get in touch with the Belleau Lake Dam Co-ordinator, Joe Arnone, he told me that they were not satisfied with the person that they hired last year and this year hired a new person, Kristin Douville. Both Joe and Kristin said they will call Frank Demeritt any time the Belleau Lake Dam is touched! I also gave them Frank’s telephone number and at Tuesday’s meeting I gave Frank their names and numbers to call if any issues come up. Belleau Lake’s Dam will be open starting October 15th.

The Right Level for Summer?

Another issue at the first meeting was “where should the real summer level be??” We spent lots of time on this issue. Tom Bond, another Newfield Selectman who handled the opening and closing of the Dam for many years felt he used a “guide of 36” down on the cement pillar’s next to the Dam. Frank Demeritt was using as a guide a “rock pile” about 75 yards from the Dam as a gauge?? The following day , (Sept. 5) I went down and measured the water lecel at the cement pillar. It was exactly 36 inches from the top of the cement pillar. I then went to a number of locations all over the lake and got feed back from “It’s perfect” to it’s a “little high” to it’s a “little low” to “seems to just about right?” At our BLIMP Meeting I proposed that we use this level (36”down from the Cement Pillar) as our “SUMMER LEVEL”. After much discussion it was voted on and was a unanimous “yes” but that we will relook at this issue at our next “BLIMP” Meeting in May. After getting the OK from BLIMP the next Day I measured down from both Cement Pillars on each side of the Dam and put a ORANGE fluorescent 6 ft. line “marker” on both Pillars. This will be our summer water level on Balch Lake.

When I informed the selectman Tuesday night about this marker they were happy to hear it and I believe somewhat relieved that they had a marker they could go by.

They also agreed to “recalibrate” the top of the Dam to be at the same level as the summer orange marker.

Keep it Clean

Another issue that was brought up at our first meeting was the fact that it was difficult to totally close the Dam because of excessive brush, scrap lumber, tree limbs,etc. floating down the lake and eventually sinking close to the opening of the Dam. When the Dam is open much of this “crap” gets caught in the dam making it difficult to close tightly. Framk Demerrit now has a lengthy pole that can get some of this cleaned up but I’ve committed to get a diver (BLIMP will pay him) and possibly twice a year have him/her pull up all the sinking debrie that’s accumulated at the Dam.

Weekly Recording

I also shared with Selectmen at Tuesday’s Meeting that we also have asked Linda and Al Baker, year round residents of Newfield who live about 200 yards away from the Dam to record the water level at the “Orange” Marker at least once a week starting Nov. 1st thru May 30,2008. They will Document this measurement for us and also call Frank Demeritt and the Town Hall if the water level is 3” plus or minus from the Summer/Winter levels. We will share these readings at our next BLIMP Meeting in May 2008 and also with the Selectmen ( it’s really a report card on how the Dam is managed!).

Winter Water Level

The Winter level ( Frank will open the dam October 15th, 2007) is determined by a recommendation by the Maine DEP. It’s based on a mathematical formula that includes the acres of the lake(Balch is 714 acres) the average depth of the lake (Balch is 12 ft.1 inch). Our Winter level should be NO MORE than 30 to 33 inches lower than the Summer level. This formula is put in place to prevent damage to fish and “Native” plants.

In closing

In closing I just want to say Thanks to all the BLIMP reps helping me on this issue. I hope these steps will help eliminate some or all of the Dam Management issues and this beautiful lake will continue to be beautiful! Lee Willson, BLIMP President, 207 636-3292 E-Mail: lwaw48@yahoo