CASCO — Officials in Casco and Otisfield agreed Wednesday night that they must get clarification of proposals to rehabilitate or rebuild the failing Pleasant Lake dam before they ask voters for funding.
Casco and Otisfield selectmen received a report from the Maine Emergency Management Agency that said there is significant leakage and structural deterioration at the dam. The town boards, along with Peter Barber, president of the Pleasant Lake Association, and others have been meeting since this past September to discuss how to proceed.
Officials say the dam, which is in Casco but owned by both towns, is leaking as much as 1,000 gallons of water per minute in at least three places. Attempts to keep the water from undermining the structure have been difficult.
Now the boards must determine what direction to go or face significant fines by the Department of Environmental Protection if the dam fails.
“Is it less expensive to rehabilitate (the dam) or do something new? I don’t think we can answer that question,” Casco Town Manager Dave Morton said.
The boards met this week to discuss three proposals received for the preliminary work. The bids were from MBP Consulting in Portland for $9,000, Wright-Pierce of Portland for $8,500 and Sebago Technics of South Portland for $31,800. Officials believe the bid from Sebago Technics included the dam replacement while the other two just focused on the repair.
Barber, who is a Massachusetts resident with a summer home on Pleasant Lake, negotiated the proposals with the three firms. Because he was unable to attend Wednesday night’s meeting, officials were not able to get a clear picture of what the proposals involved.
Casco Selectwoman Holly Hancock said she will call Barber and ask for his take on the proposals.
“We need to understand. Is it a new thing or repairing the old and which is the best solution?” Casco Board of Selectmen Chairman Grant Plummer said.
Otisfield selectmen said they would like the low bidder, Myron Petrovsky, principal of MBP Consulting, to do the job, but all agreed they must get clarification and a price for the removal and new construction from the firm.
Petrovsky authored a report on the dam’s condition for the two boards last year and said the overall condition of the dam is poor and almost every component of the dam is leaking.
The dam is on Mill Brook, behind the Hancock Lumber office on Route 121. It regulates the water level of the 3.8-mile-long Pleasant Lake, which lies in Casco and Otisfield. There are numerous homes and cottages around the lake, as well as the Seeds of Peace International Camp on the western shore and Camp Arcadia for Girls on the eastern shore, both in Otisfield.
The dam has been jointly owned, operated and maintained by Casco and Otisfield since 1994. It previously was owned by Hancock Lumber Co.
According to the Maine Dams Inventory, the 110-foot-long, 12-foot-high dam was built in 1850, repaired in 1980 and has low-hazard classification, meaning there is nothing significant downstream that would be affected by a dam breach.
“Eventually, we will get fined if we don’t do something. So we need to do something,” Casco Selectman Thomas Peaslee said.
Both boards will go to town meetings for the costs of the preliminary project. Otisfield has its annual town meeting in late June, while Casco officials said they could call a special town meeting.
“We want to look at a pretty permanent repair here,” Morton said.
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