LINCOLN, Maine — The dam that controls the flow from Upper Coldstream Pond to Coldstream Pond leaks. The problem is bad enough that the water level in Upper Coldstream Pond dropped about 20 inches this fall, and its boat landing was just about useless, officials said Thursday.
“The main spillway is actually in pretty good shape, but the back side, which supports the concrete, is virtually missing and water is seeping through the earthen part of either side of the structure where it is not supposed to leak,” said Jeff Fogg, a volunteer coordinator of the town’s dam repair effort.
That’s why the Town Council voted 7-0 on Monday to allocate as much as $50,000 to fix the approximately 70 feet of dam and earthen banks near Stanhope Mill Road this spring, Fogg and council Chairman Steve Clay said.
No one envisions a sudden dam break threatening homes along Coldstream Pond, but Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials have expressed fears that a sudden break could wipe out Stanhope Mill Road, lower Upper Coldstream precipitously and flood Coldstream with heavy sediments and pollutants, Clay and Fogg said.
The Big Narrows, as Upper Coldstream is also known, “would not drain but we would lose 4 to 5 feet of depth with it,” Fogg said.
Councilors supported the allocation because the two ponds are frequented by tourists among Lincoln’s 13 lakes and streams. They also backed the volunteers, mostly nearby property owners, working on the replacement. Their work is expected to significantly reduce repair costs, Clay said.
“They have all donated time and materials as owners to keep costs as low as possible,” Clay said.
DEP officials told the volunteers that the replacement, not repair, of similar-sized dams around the state has cost as much as $250,000, Fogg said.
“Those are two popular ponds. They have a lot of camps and lakes around them,” Clay added. “If we don’t fix the dam, property values will tank. It is good for the entire area because it brings some people to town to use the ponds.”
Ted Ocana of Ocana Engineering is designing the dam replacement for free, Clay said.
Volunteers are planning to begin repair work in the spring. Temporary repairs, such as the shoring of the present banks, will occur in a few weeks. They also are preparing to seek bids or requests for proposals from contractors within several weeks, Fogg said.