You may recall that back in December the DEP issued an Order transferring the Clary Lake water level order to the Clary Lake Association (see 11 December 2018: Clary Lake Water Level Order Transfer Complete). You may also remember that Richard Smith, owner of Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) subsequently appealed the Transfer Order to the Board of Environmental Protection (see 26 December 2018: Aquafortis Appeals CLA License Transfer). Today I received 2 heavy manila envelopes in the mail, one addressed to me and one to President Malcolm Burson, each containing 98 pages of documents pertaining to Aquafortis’s appeal. A hearing on the appeal has been scheduled for Thursday May 16, 2019 beginning at 9:00 AM. The meeting is going to be at the Augusta Civic Center at 76 Community Drive in Augusta. Continue reading
Author Archives: George Fergusson
01 May 2019: DEP Approves Water Level Management Plan
We have received provisional approval of our Water Level Management Plan [WLMP] from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. The WLMP details the procedures we’ll be following to operate the Clary Lake dam and manage the water level so as to remain in compliance with the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO]. The completion of a management plan was the final requirement of the WLO and it’s good to have this task behind us. This first season is like a shakedown cruise: we’ll be sitting down with DEP staff next winter to review the plan to see how well it’s met everyone’s needs. Continue reading
April 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
April 2019
I have archived the April 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing about this chart is that it shows the lake level rose up to the High Water Mark (HWM) on the first day of the month, for the first time since before our water level crisis started back in 2011! The lake level has been hovering right around the HWM for the entire month, spending some time above and some time below it, rising as high as 3 inches above the HWM on April 27th before dropping to end the month 1.80 inches above the HWM. A lake level slightly above the HWM is a more or less normal condition this time of year, and there has been water flowing over the top of the Clary Lake dam for the entire month. When the spring runoff ends (it’s already peaked), the lake level will drop back to a more reasonable level 4 to 6 inches below the HWM. The plan is try and keep it around that level through July and into August. Welcome to the New Normal. Continue reading
29 April 2017: Midcoast Conservancy Info-Session on Browntail Moths
Browntail Moth Caterpillar
For those of you who are interested in learning more about Browntail moths (which should be pretty much all of you), the Midcoast Conservancy has finally posted the video of the program on Browntail Moths that they put on back on April 4th at the Edgecomb Eddy School. You’ll find a link to that video along with other useful information about these insect pests.
https://www.midcoastconservancy.org/browntail-moth-info-session/
26 April 2019: Water Monitoring Resumes for 2019
David measures the wind speed, direction, and temperature.
Kelsie French, David Hodsdon, and I headed out today to kick off the 2019 Clary Lake water quality monitoring season. David started monitoring on Clary Lake in 1975, making this his 44th year on the job! The average secchi disk reading was 3.75 meters (12.3 feet) which is about average for this time of year- spring rains and runoff carries silt into the lake which reduces transparency. It’ll clear up some as summer approaches. Dissolved Oxygen pretty uniform throughout the water column, also a normal condition for this time of year. We had planned on obtaining a water sample for Phosphorus testing but the weather today just wasn’t conducive to spending any more time on the water than we had to. After all, it’s not like we were fishing. At 9.8° C the water temperature was actually warmer than the air! All I can say is I look forward to more pleasant weather this year than what we had to put up with today!
You’ll find water quality data back to 2012 on our Clary Lake Water Monitoring Data page.
24 April 2019: Water Over The Dam
We’ve received a lot of rain over the past week resulting in a full lake and a nice sedate outflow over the dam. Older folks will recall that this is what Spring is like on Clary Lake. There’s about 2.5″ of water going over the dam and the estimated discharge is about 70 cubic feet per second.
14 April 2019: Ice Out!
Finally, Clary Lake is ice free! I know most of you on the north and northwest shores have had open water for the better part of a week, but ice persisted on the south and east sides until yesterday. Even this morning (picture at left) there was still a large raft of ice down by the State boat launch, which largely disappeared by noon. While ice out seemed to take forever this year, the median date for ice out is April 13th (half occur before and half occur after that date) so we’re really right about on schedule. Ice out means ALL the ice is melted. Check out our Ice-In and Ice-Out page which has records going back to 2001.
Let the boating begin!
05 April 2019: Test #1 Of Email Alert System Sent
Yesterday I posted that we were going to start testing our “Lake Shore Owner Notification System” soon. This afternoon I actually sent the first of likely several test emails to Clary Lake shore owners and Clary Lake Association members. This mailing went out to 132 people and so far at least, there have been no bounces.
If you think you should have received an email but didn’t, first check your spam folder and if you find it there, just tell your email program that it isn’t spam! Another possibility is that we don’t have your email address on file. If that’s the case, please email me and I’ll add your address to our list. If you’re one of the few people left who really don’t have an email address, relax: I’ll be sending around a test postcard sometime next week. I’ve also created a simple Google Spreadsheet to keep track of the alerts and have added an Email Alert System page with information about the system. You can also sign up for E-Alerts.
Stay tuned. The fun is just beginning.
04 April 2019: Testing of Lake Shore Owner Notification System to Start Soon
Now that the lake level staff gauge installation has been approved by DEP, the remaining requirement of the Clary Lake Water Level Order already under way but yet to be completed is a Water Level Management Plan [WLMP], defined in Special Condition #5 of the WLO. The Board has been working on it off and on for most of the winter and it is now in the final review stage. We’ll make it available as soon as it is finished and has been approved by the DEP. Copies will also be posted at the Whitefield and Jefferson Town Offices.
One of the requirements of the WLMP is that we develop a procedure for alerting people 1) of possible flooding events and 2) repair or maintenance procedures on the dam that are expected to appreciably affect lake levels. We propose to 1) post notices on this website and on Facebook and 2) send email notices to those people for whom we have email addresses and by postcard to those people without email. We’re in the process of setting up this notification system now and will start testing it in the near future. I’ll soon be adding a page on this site to keep track of water level related events and notices sent. Continue reading
02 April 2019: Yet Another Video of Clary Lake Dam
For 10 years I’ve waited to see water flowing over the Clary Lake dam again. It’s finally come to pass, and I’m not tired of it yet. I took this video this morning and posted it to our Facebook page. Posting it here now.
02 April 2019: Midcoast Conservancy to Offer Informational Meeting on Browntail Moths
We have a growing Browntail Moth problem in our area. Several people around Clary Lake have recently brought the problem to my attention. They’ve been around a while, so you may be familiar with them already. If not, you should familiarize yourselves with these critters. They’re nasty. Besides being bad for the trees (primarily Oaks, but they infest other varieties), the caterpillars have tiny hairs which can cause serious problems for people. Our area has until recently been considered a “Low Risk” area for Browntails, but from my recent observations it sure looks like they’re rapidly becoming a significant problem. Continue reading
01 April 2019 Video: Lake at HWM, Water Over the Dam
For the first time in over a decade, the water level of Clary Lake is at the HWM and there is water going over the dam. No this isn’t an April Fools joke, here’s the video to prove it:
March 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
March 2019
I have archived the March 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable thing about this chart is it shows that while we’re still a couple of inches short of the elevation of the high water mark as determined by DEP, the lake has nonetheless reached the highest level we can realistically expect to maintain for any length of time: as of this morning, the water level has begun trickling over the top in two low spots, one on the left side of the dam and the other on the right. By my reckoning Clary Lake hasn’t had this much water in it since 2010. I’ve been waiting for this moment for 8 years: as the lake has filled with water, my heart and soul have filled with gratitude. Over the past few weeks as the lake level has 
gradually risen, I’ve been seeing water in places where I remember it when I was a kid, and Clary Lake was my playground: the marsh by the Whitefield and Jefferson Town Line, one of my favorite haunts and fishing spots as a kid, is full once again with high water extending all the way to the culvert under the road. Also the marsh at the inlet from Three Corner Pond on Route 126 where we used to launch our boats before the State boat launch was built is once again full water. Continue reading
30 March 2019: Fire Spreads to Multiple Buildings at N.C. Hunt Lumber
N.C. Hunt Lumber Company on Route 215 in Jefferson suffered a major loss due to fire that apparently started late last night. Fire crews from Jefferson and surrounding towns were still there this morning pumping water out of Clary Lake. Here’s an article from the online version of the Lincoln County News:
Fire Destroys Sawmill at N.C. Hunt Lumber in Jefferson, Business Plans to Rebuild
I stopped down this morning when I heard about the fire, and took the photograph at left of fire trucks pumping water out of Clary Lake. We have been planning for some time to install a dry fire hydrant at this location. Fortunately, the lake is almost full and they were able to get plenty of water or they might have lost more structures in the fire.
Jack Holland sent me a the drone photo at left which I believe was taken by Mark Allen. You can clearly see the main sawmill structure and associated buildings are totally gone. It is amazing they didn’t lose more structures.
This is very unfortunate. Norman Hunt has donated generously to the Clary Lake Association in the past. We wish him the best of luck in rebuilding.
21 March 2019: Lake Level Staff Gauge Installed
Work to come into compliance with the Clary Lake Water Level Order (WLO) continues. Special Condition #6 of the WLO requires that the dam owner install a lake level staff gauge graduated in feet and tenths of a foot located in a “publicly visible location” behind the dam. The zero foot mark on the gauge must mark the elevation of the Normal High Water Mark (HWM) which has been previously determined to be at an elevation of 151.17 feet. I had already purchased the staff gauge from Forestry Suppliers earlier this winter. It’s nicely constructed of steel with a baked-on enamel coating, easy to read graduations, and brass grommets in the screw holes. It’s attached to a piece of pressure treated 5/4 board with stainless steel screws which in turn is attached to two steel brackets bolted to the gate structure with stainless bolts. It should prove serviceable for many years. Many thanks to Colin Caissie (pictured below left) for designing and fabricating the brackets to attach the staff gauge to the gate structure, and for helping with the installation. Continue reading
15 March 2019 Central Maine Papers: Whitefield lakeside property owners not entitled to monetary damages over low water, court rules
Central Maine Papers staff reporter Jessica Lowell has written an article about the Rubin v. Smith lawsuit.
Lake side property owners not entitled to monetary damages over low water
Here’s a link to an archived copy if you have trouble getting off the newspaper site:
03 March 2019: Judge Rules In Rubin Lawsuit In Favor of Smith
On February 22, 2019, Justice Billings finally ruled in the Rubin/Ayer v. Smith/Aquafortis Associates [AQF] lawsuit, finding in favor of Richard Smith. At the start of the litigation back in January 2016 (see Clary Lake Shore Owners Rubin & Ayer File Suit in Superior Court), both Paul Kelley and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC [PPM] were defendants in the suit along with Richard Smith and AQF but first PPM and then Kelley subsequently filed for bankruptcy, staying the civil suit against them. Rubin and Ayer decided to pursue a judgment against only Richard Smith and AQF. They almost won, which is to say, they lost. There were a lot of very interesting elements in the suit, I’ve followed it closely since it was filed, and I testified when it went to hearing on December 20th (see Update on Rubin v. Smith Lawsuit). I have not written about the case much on this website, at the request of Bob Rubin who told me he did not want the publicity. In any case, here’s the Judge’s Order:
At the risk of over-simplifying the case, Rubin and Ayer basically had to prove three things, 1) that their use and enjoyment of their property was impacted due to low water conditions and that their property value had been damaged, 2) that Richard Smith was personally liable for the actions of AQF (a procedure referred to as “piercing the corporate veil”) and 3) that AQF and PPM were effectively alter egos of each other, in other words, one and the same and hence AQF/Smith should be held liable for the operation (or lack thereof) of the dam. Continue reading
February 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
February 2019
I have archived the February 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The most noticeable thing about this chart is it’s BORING, and how pleasant for a change not seeing rapidly fluctuating water levels! The lake level gradually dropped only 3.72″ over the course of the month from a high of -10.68″ below HWM at the start of the month to -14.40″ below the HWM at the end of it, staying pretty much right within the range we were looking for. Our goal was to keep the lake level right about 12″ to 18″ below the HWM. We didn’t have any major precipitation events: rainfall for the month of February was slightly below average with precipitation of only 2.16″ bringing us to 5.36″ for the year, slightly above the average of 5.04″ thanks to a extra wet January. We do have a reasonable snow pack developing so runoff this spring should be more than sufficient to raise the lake level up to the HWM, for the first time in over 10 years. Continue reading
Lake Stewards of Maine’s Winter 2018-19 Water Column Newsletter Is Out
I just received my copy of the 2018-2019 issue of the Water Column, the newsletter of Lake Stewards of Maine (formerly the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitor Program). This issue has a great article by Roberta Hill which discusses the impact climate change is having on lakes in Maine, and everyone who cares about Clary Lake should read it. While there is debate in some quarters about the causes of climate change, there is little question that our climate is in fact changing and the effect it is having on Maine lakes are very real. If there’s one thing the last 8 years of our lake level crisis has shown us it is that lakes are fragile and tenuously balanced ecosystems and that seemingly small changes in water levels, water temperature, and nutrient load can have profound impact on lake ecology. Now that we’ve succeeded in restoring the historical water level regime of Clary Lake, I think our primary challenge going forward will be to preserve Clary’s water quality, and keep it free of invasive plant and animal species. To quote the article:
“We now have sufficient data to know with a high degree of certainty that, like much of the northeast, Maine is getting warmer, experiencing wetter winters and springs, drier summers, and more frequent extreme weather events (including floods and droughts). The shifting climate is causing our growing seasons in Maine to become longer, and the periods of ice cover on our lakes to become shorter. All of the changes described above pose serious challenges for lakes.”
The Clary Lake Association has been a long time supporting member of the Lake Stewards of Maine and has been monitoring water quality on Clary Lake since 1975 making Clary the 3rd longest monitored lake in the state. We’ll be starting up the 2019 water monitoring season again in late April or early May.
22 February 2019: Whitefield Library Association to Purchase Arlington Grange
Two years ago the Whitefield Library Association was formed and moved into Whitefield’s historic Arlington Grange Hall. This structure, built in 1884, has acted as a community gathering space in various capacities over the past 135 years and is a heartwarming symbol of rural American civic engagement. The Whitefield Library Association has begun fundraising to purchase the building and set up a fully functioning community library on the bottom floor and a vibrant community center on the second floor. Check out the new website!