KENNEBUNK, Maine — The Kennebunk Light & Power District has lowered the Mousam River for repairs to the Kesslen Dam. Work began Monday off the Mousam River Bridge and is expected to be completed by Wednesday.
A chain and gear mechanism used to open the gates on the Kesslen Dam is rusting and has become difficult to operate, according to Kennebunk Light & Power District’s General Manager Sharon Staz.
“They’ll have a new operating system with the gates there,” Staz said. “This will be a hydraulic automatic system.”
The gates are opened to move water through in the event of heavy rain storms, Staz said, or to lower water levels in order for work to be done. She said lowering of the river began Friday and is a “safe level for the environment and for people.”
While Staz said the water is generally at the height of the embankments behind Pleasant Street and Lafayette Center, there is about a 10-foot wide stream of water flowing through.
Staz said crews are watching the weather because if there are torrential downpours, the work will have to be rescheduled.
The repair is independent of the potential relicensing of Kennebunk Light & Power District’s hydroelectric dams on the Mousam River, Staz said. The district’s three hydroelectric sites — the Twine Mill, Kesslen and Dane Perkins dams — are licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the license expires March 31, 2022. The district must notify the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of its plans for the sites by March 2017.
“This is work that needed to be done to make sure that we could operate the gates when we are supposed to in a safe and efficient manner,” Staz said.
Anyone with questions or concerns should call Staz at 985-3311 or email sastaz@klpd.org.