The managing partner of Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM), Paul Kelley, who also serves as representative for Aquafortis Associates LLC, said the dam should be repaired by those who benefit from it.
“I still own the dam and if the dam is to serve purpose other than the one it was designed for, someone else will have to do the repairs,” Kelley said Aug. 27. He cited Department of Environmental Protection policies and guidelines that, according to Kelley, say people that benefit from dams should be responsible for their maintenance and repairs.
“Our company currently does not benefit,” Kelley said.
A 2003 report that was entered in evidence as part of the DEP’s water level hearing for Clary Lake Dam Aug. 17 describes a structure in need of repair.
At PPM’s request, Hallowell-based engineering, construction and technical services company, URS Corporation, visited the site on three occasions and assessed the dam’s physical condition. They performed a field survey and observed the dam in low and high water conditions, determined the basic hydrological characteristics of the watershed and provided PPM with options and costs for leakage control and dam repairs.
The 19-page report, dated July 23, 2003, said that URS was unable to observe a specific location of primary or significant leaks into or through the dam, such as a major void or crack.
“A number of problems with the dam structure were noted during the site visits,” the report states. The report puts those issues into four categories: building foundation flow, dam hydraulic controls, safety and long-term maintenance.
“While the safety issues and long-term maintenance issues should be undertaken in the near future to limit further dam deterioration, these deficiencies are not seriously endangering the dam at this time,” the report states. “We do recommend that temporary fencing repairs be made to the dam as soon as practical.”
No specific leak was found with flow into the building foundation occurring at approximately 5-6 feet below dam crest.
The report recommended both short and long term solutions, beginning with the construction of a berm across the head pond area and a temporary repair to remove the concrete wall blocking the 23-inch orifice that is the dam’s principle outlet. The report called the outlet “inadequate” and “inappropriate” and said “The lack of an adequate principal outlet is causing relatively rapid deterioration of the dam.”
“More importantly, however, is the flow around the east end of the dam,” the report said, adding that there is “a real risk of damage both downstream of the dam on your [PPM’s] property and to abutting property.” The URS report called for a new principle spillway, repairs to the east end of the dam and an earth berm or secondary spillway at the east end. The report did not include designs for these repairs.
Cost estimates for construction of the various repairs suggested in the URS report totaled between $40,000 and $62,000. The estimates were based on conditions “as we [URS] understand them,” the report said, adding that unforeseen issues might surface once construction began. “If you are using the cost estimates for critical budgeting, please be aware that we have not included a contingency cost in the estimate.”
At the time of the report, PPM owned the four parcels that include the upper and lower dams and the buildings associated with the mill. In 2012, all of the properties except the Clary Lake Dam were sold to the newly-formed Aquafortis. Pleasant Pond Mill retained ownership of the Clary Lake Dam.
Kelly said the report only referred to the lower mill pond dam and does not contain a hydrological analysis of the whole site, because the condition of the mill pond dam at the time of the purchase did not allow the pond to be fully drained.
“URS’s report speculated as to the source of the leak into the mill building,
Kelley said. He said PPM responded to the report by removing the concrete plug in the pipe at the base of the mill pond dam and opening another plug in the former sluice gate.
“Once those repairs were made, essentially undoing alterations that Chet Chase had made, the mill pond dam was opened sufficiently so the mill pond could drain fully,” he said. Once the pond was drained, Kelley said, the owners inspected the mill building and found a large crack in that dam’s concrete face. He said a granite wall on the land side has shifted and collapsed.
“We asked the town of Whitefield for approval to rehabilitate when Pleasant Pond Mill owned the mill,” Kelley said. The mill pond dam serves as a part of the foundation of the building.”
He said the original plan was to do all the repair work together, but that the failure of the town to approve a request to merge the properties into one parcel led to the division between PPM and Aquafortis.
Now that that has not happened, Kelley said, there is no reason for PPM to repair the dam.
“It was designed to run a mill, not to create a lake for the enjoyment of homeowners and creation of tax revenue,” Kelley said. “Unless somebody comes up with a proposal, at the town of Whitefield level, that would be financially viable, I don’t anticipate that I would be involved in any way.”
