By J.W. Oliver
The high-water line on the rocks illustrates the recent drop in the water level at Clark’s Cove Pond in South Bristol Monday, Oct. 20. The town and a group of residents who live around the pond hope to remedy the issue soon. (J.W. Oliver photo) |
South Bristol officials and residents are devising a quick-fix plan to protect Clark’s Cove Pond after a dramatic drop in water level in recent weeks.
The water level in the pond is about 4 feet low and continues to drop at a rate of about a foot a week, according to South Bristol Selectman Ken Lincoln.
Without repairs, the small group of neighbors who live around the 36.9-acre pond could see a Sherman Lake-like turn of events – the freshwater, manmade pond could
disappear and the basin could become a tidal stream.
Clark’s Cove Pond has long been porous. The fresh water from the pond trickles out and salt water from Clark’s Cove, on the Damariscotta River, seeps in at high
tide. Recently, however, this exchange has become a serious problem.
“That’s always had a little water going underneath, but it is to the point now it’s leaking more than it’s recharging,” Lincoln said.
The neighbors who live on the pond noticed a “sinkhole” in the pond about five weeks ago. It appears, in Lincoln’s words, as if “the bottom of the pond has fallen
out.”
Lincoln and fellow Selectman Chester Rice believe the leak lies between the bedrock underneath the pond and the concrete at the base of an approximately century-old
dam.
The town and the neighbors agree on the need to seal the leak right away. The town needs to protect Clark’s Cove Road, which passes over the dam, while the neighbors
want to protect their shorefront and avoid a Sherman Lake scenario.
Newcastle’s Sherman Lake drained when flood waters breached an earthen dam during a 2005 storm. The body of water is now known as Marsh River.
Clark’s Cove Pond “is going to be Marsh River all over again” without quick action, Rice said.
The South Bristol Board of Selectmen met with neighbors Dirk Brunner, Tim Cheney, and Larry and Christa Mayer Thursday, Oct. 16.
The group quickly brainstormed a fix to the problem. The residents, at the suggestion of the selectmen, agreed to pay for materials, while the town will cover
equipment, labor, and other costs.
The selectmen plan to discuss their plan with South Bristol contractor Plummer Excavation right away and schedule a time to go to work.
As the plan stands after the meeting, the contractor will dig a trench, plug the leaks with a special type of clay that expands as it soaks in moisture, install a
plastic liner on both sides of the dam, and add another variety of clay on top of the liner.
“This could happen, theoretically, in the next couple weeks,” Lincoln said.
The selectmen and the neighbors hope the work will serve as at least a short-term patch and are optimistic it could be a long-term solution.
“This is the most economical and, it seems, a reasonable solution, and if it reappears (in) two years, five years, 10 years, obviously there will have to be some
engineering involved and it turns into a pretty major project,” Lincoln said. “I think we would all prefer to see this not become that.”
Earl Haley dammed the pond in the early 1900s to harvest ice for his American Ice Company, according to Rice, who is Haley’s grandson.