As a tidal dam that is regularly overtopped by monthly high
tides, the Orland Village dam is vulnerable to damage from a coastal storm
event. Whatever the outcome of the vote, it is in the Town’s best interest to
plan for the future of the structure as it ages.
Funding is available now to continue
to evaluate dam removal and related issues. The Penobscot River watershed is
one of ten “Habitat Focus Areas” across the country where the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has dedicated funding for
habitat restoration. The Penobscot was selected largely because of the progress
already made in restoring populations of native sea-run fish as a result of the
Penobscot River Restoration Project. NOAA has appropriated some of this new
funding to The Nature Conservancy to work with the Town of Orland. Federal
grant policies demand that this funding is spent within a certain period of
time. So federal funds could be allocated to Orland now, even if removal does
not happen for a few years.
Additional non-federal funds
will also be available from a recent oil spill settlement (http://www.mpbn.net/post/agreement-provides-880k-penobscot-river-oil-leak-dispute) that will be jointly managed by the State of Maine,
NOAA and US Fish and Wildlife Service. An important first step is identifying
restoration of the Narramissic River as a possible project in a plan for the
court-approved settlement.
More details on why we are voting now:
The dam is about 20 years into its 30-year life expectancy. It needs regular repairs to keep it functioning (at an annual cost of $7,000). The dam spillway is close to the elevation of high tide, and as a result saltwater now regularly overtops the dam and enters the Narramissic River in the village area. The gates are deteriorating. With the dam’s height so close to the height of high tide, the dam is vulnerable to storm surges and floods, like the surge that breached the dam in 1994. Repairs cost nearly $100,000. If a storm or flood washed out the dam, it could leave behind an eyesore and a safety hazard.
 |
| Orland Village Dam at high tide, when incoming saltwater floods over the top of the dam. |
Regardless of the outcome of the town vote, something also has to be done to address the fishway. Fish passage at the dam is required by state law and is necessary for Orland to maintain an alewife harvest. Two existing fish ladders at the dam are too small and during periods of low tide are difficult for fish to access, impairing passage for alewives, endangered Atlantic salmon and American eel. The dam is not passing enough alewives to adequately populate the entire watershed, according to the Department of Marine Resources. Other species known to occur downstream of the dam—including shortnose sturgeon, American eel and striped bass—will not use the ladders. There is no dedicated downstream passage, and the stranding of outmigrating juvenile alewives on the timber spillway of the dam is a frequent occurrence.
If alewives, eels, or other migratory fish are listed as federally
endangered or threatened in the future, the town could be forced to take stronger
measures. Should the dam be damaged by a storm surge, and fish passage hindered
or destroyed (as happened in 1994), the town would have to pay for repairs.
Keeping the dam, including improving fish
passage, and upgrading it to modern standards is the town’s most expensive option, with estimated costs exceeding $1
million, according to Stantec’s 2013 feasibility study. Outside funding sources are limited for dam maintenance.
