The Orland Village Dam is the lowermost (most seaward) dam
on the Narramissic River, which is also known as the Eastern or Orland River.
There is another dam at the “Upper Falls,” near the outlet of Alamoosook Lake,
and another at the outlet of Toddy Pond. Both upper
dams have working fishways.
The current Orland Village Dam was built in the 1930s by
the Maine Seaboard Paper Company to create a water supply for the paper mill in
Bucksport. However, it was never used for this purpose because the next upstream dam, at the outlet of Alamoosook
Lake, proved to be more efficient.
The dam is constructed of wooden timbers filled with rock
(“cribwork”), with a small amount of concrete added later in an attempt to
patch some internal leaks. This type of construction is not ideal for tidal/saltwater
conditions currently being experienced, a situation expected to get worse over
time with accelerating rates of sea-level rise, as the dam is already regularly
overtopped by monthly high tides and is not a complete barrier to the tidal
exchange of salt and fresh water.
Annual maintenance costs are estimated at $7,000; this does
not include damage from storms or other disasters, which have led to more
costly repairs in the past.
Verso made $83,845 in repairs to the dam in 1985; the dam
was rebuilt again after it was damaged by a storm-driven tidal surge in January
1994, at a cost of approximately $93,855. Other repairs occurred during the 1990s,
including over $10,000 spent on the fish ladders. In 2010 the Town of Orland
agreed to take ownership of the dam from Verso when the paper company indicated
that they would abandon and possibly remove the dam if the town did not take
ownership. Verso provided up to $5,000 for minor
repairs on the dam.
