Here are some videos that I took back on 9 November 2018 showing the PCS crew opening up the original log sluice. With all the excitement at the time, I forgot to post them! Enjoy.
Author Archives: George Fergusson
09 February 2019: Is This Your Ice Fishing House?
This ice fishing house has been up on the northwest end of Clary Lake for a few weeks. This morning the wind was really humming and it blew it a mile and a half down the lake to the State boat launch. There’s no name or number on it. If you know who it belongs to, let them know it’s not where they left it.
January 2019 Water Level Chart Archived
January 2019
I have archived the January 2019 Water Level Chart (at left). The best thing about this chart is that it shows that for the first time in over 8 years, the lake level was right where was supposed to be, when it was supposed to be there. The lake level remained above -24″ below the HWM for the entire month. How sweet is that! For the first 3/4 of the month, the lake level hovered right around 18″ below the HWM, give or take a few inches. Then we received 1.66″ of rain on the 24th which caused the lake to rise almost 1 foot, topping out at about 5″ below the HWM. That was higher higher than we’ve seen the lake in over 8 years, and actually than we wanted to see it so we opened the gate a foot to release more water in addition to what was already going over the weir. That halted the lake level rise. Since then it’s been falling gradually, ending the month not quite 10″ below the HWM. Welcome to the new normal! Continue reading
31 January 2019: Board of Environmental Protection Rejects Kelley and Smith Filings
Just last week I posted about several filings made by Richard Smith and Paul Kelley in response to an appeal of the DEP’s Order transferring the Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Clary Lake Association (see: “Kelley, Smith, Duncan File Comments on AQF Appeal“). The appeal was originally filed by Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) on December 26th (see: Aquafortis Appeals CLA License Transfer). The Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) wasted no time in responding to those filings and in a move that should surprise no one, they were determined to be not admissible to the record and have been summarily rejected. The BEP has not responded to Butch Duncan’s request for a public hearing on the license transfer and I think it’s safe to say that’s just not going to happen. Continue reading
25 January 2019: Lake at a Level Not Seen in Years
The lake has so far risen over 8″ as a result of yesterday’s heavy rain and is now 7 inches below the normal high water mark. The last time it was this high was 9 years ago, in 2010. It will continue to rise a little more over the next couple of days before it starts falling again. Ideally this time of year we’d like it between 12 and 24 inches below the HWM.
24 January 2019: Kelley, Smith, Duncan File Comments on AQF Appeal
The deadline for submitting written comments on Aquafortis Associates LLC’s appeal of the DEP Order transferring the Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Clary Lake Association was Tuesday, 22 January 2019 at 5:00 PM (see “Aquafortis Appeals CLA License Transfer“). Only Butch Duncan commented on the actual license transfer application so therefore, according to the Notice of Appeal, he was the only one entitled to submit written comments on the appeal. He did not disappoint, submitting a short email to the Service List just after 3 PM on Tuesday. Per the Notice of Appeal, the Clary Lake Association was also entitled to comment, and we did by our letter dated January 4th. Much to my surprise (just kidding!) verbose comments were also submitted at the last minute by Paul Kelley (a total of 79 pages) and Richard Smith (a total of 37 pages). Continue reading
O5 January 2019: Clary Lake Association Responds to Aquafortis Appeal of License Transfer
Back on December 26th I posted about Aquafortis Associates LLC appealing the recent DEP Order #L-22585-36-F-T transferring the Clary Lake Water Level Order to the Clary Lake Association. CLA President Malcolm Burson has in turn responded to the appeal with a short, succinct 1 page letter:
Ho hum. That is all.
02 January 2019 Lincoln County News: Clary Lake Dam Repairs Complete
There’s an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff reporter Jessica Clifford about the Clary Lake dam.
Here’s an archived copy for your convenience:
December 2018 Water Level Chart Archived
December 2018
I have archived the December 2018 Water Level Chart (at left) bringing us to the end of what has turned out to be the LAST YEAR of sub-par water levels for the foreseeable future. At this time last year the lake level was 42″ below the HWM and we were waiting for Justice Billings to rule on the appeal of the Clary Lake Water Level Order while at the same time beginning to entertain the possibility of actually buying the Clary Lake dam from Paul Kelley’s bankruptcy estate. The ruling on the appeal came a few months later in February; the purchase of the dam, well that took a little longer. Looking back, what a landmark year it has been. Continue reading
26 December 2018: Update on Rubin v. Smith Lawsuit
The lawsuit that CLA members Robert Rubin and his wife Cheryl Ayer brought against Richard Smith, Aquafortis Associates LLC, Paul Kelley, and Pleasant Pond Mill LLC back in January 2016, finally, after numerous delays and stays, went to trial on December 20th and 21st in Lincoln County Superior Court. The presiding Judge in the case is Justice Billings, the same Judge that spent 4 years presiding over the Clary Lake Water Level Order appeal so he’s no stranger to Clary Lake, its characters, and its issues. Bob and Cheryl’s lawsuit was initially delayed to allow the WLO appeal to finish (which concluded in February 2018) and then delayed further to let Kelley’s bankruptcy finish. When we ended up closing on the dam this past October, the Rubin/Ayer lawsuit finally went forward. Bob asked me early on not to write about the lawsuit as he didn’t want the publicity. Now that the hearing has taken place, the lid is off. You can read more about the trial in the latest Central Maine Papers article about Clary Lake. Continue reading
Central Maine Papers: Repairs to Whitefield’s Clary Lake Dam completed
There’s an article that appeared in the Sunday December 23rd Kennebec Journal and Morning Sentinel by Central Maine Papers staff writer Jessica Lowell about the Clary Lake dam and the Rubin/Ayer v. Smith/AQF lawsuit which went to trial last week. This latest article is factually accurate which is somewhat of a marvel even considering Ms. Lowell has been following the Clary Lake saga for a number of years.
Here’s an archived copy if you have trouble getting it off the Central Maine Papers website:
26 December 2018: Aquafortis Appeals CLA License Transfer
In a move that should surprise no one, Richard Smith of Aquafortis Associates LLC [AQF] has formally appealed the Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to approve our application to transfer the Clary Lake Water Level Order to our organization. The appeal of the December 6th Department Order #L-22585-36-F-T was filed “in a timely manner” with the Board of Environmental Protection [BEP] on December 11th, the same day I posted that our license transfer application had been approved. This appeal can only be viewed as ongoing harassment of the Association by Paul Kelley and Richard Smith and a continued attack on Clary Lake, and the Clary Lake Water Level Order. One wonders what they can possibly hope to accomplish with this appeal save wasting our time and that of the DEP and the BEP? It appears the following email I received from DEP on December 13th is in fact the formal appeal: Continue reading
25 December 2018: Ice Boating on Clary Lake
Cold! Very Cold! And fast! Very fast! I’d have taken more video but it was too cold! What great ice! There appears to be a solid 8″ to 10″ of ice.
Merry Christmas from the Clary Lake Association
On behalf of the Clary Lake Association Board I’d like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We certainly have a lot to be thankful for this year!
24 December 2018: Water Over the Weir
Totally Staged Photo of George Fergusson posing at the gate. Colin Caissie actually did all the heavy cranking.
I had intended to post some news and pictures on the dam repairs before now but I have been out straight and only now, the day before Christmas, have I found the time to sit down and do it. Last Tuesday workers with PCS removed the concrete forms and pulled some sandbags. They came back the next day to clean up and load up the rest of their gear and materials, bringing to completion the initial repairs to the Clary Lake dam. That afternoon, Colin Caissie completed fabrication of a wrench to operate the gate, and we wasted no time in closing it. Part of the rush was the anticipated rain forecast for Friday: we really wanted to capture the runoff! Here are a few pictures from when we closed the gate, and a video of water flowing over the weir: Continue reading
15 December 2018: Dam Repairs Completed!
On Friday December 14th, 2018 the PCS crew finished forming up the original log sluice gate in the middle of the dam and poured concrete, bringing to completion the major repairs to the Clary Lake dam. I can hardly believe it’s really happened! So many things had to go just right for this to happen now, from the lack of rain and snow over the last 2 weeks to the rising temperatures on the day of the pour. So much could have gone wrong, it really is a miracle. If the lake level hadn’t dropped enough and if the temperature hadn’t finally moderated, we’d still be waiting, and who knows when conditions would have permitted the repairs to be finished? It was only 4 days ago that I posted that dam repairs have resumed. All told this final phase of effort took 5 full days, made all the more difficult by the brutally cold temperatures for the first 4 days of the week. Here are some more pictures that tell this latest chapter in the story: Continue reading
11 December 2018: Dam Repairs Resume!
Repair work on the Clary Lake dam has been on hold for a few weeks while we waited for the water level behind the dam to fall enough to allow work to resume. We weren’t sure if a sufficient work-window was going to open, but fortunately, the 2-storms-a-week weather pattern that dropped 7″ of rain on us in November has given way to good old fashioned cold, dry, Maine December weather, and the water level behind the dam started to fall rapidly. At the beginning of the month there was over a foot of water flowing through the open weir. By last Sunday morning, the water depth was down to a little over 3″ and dropping, and with a possible large rain event forecast for next weekend, Rick Pease of PCS Construction decided it was time to resume work.
Monday morning they started the day by filling sandbags (at left), and in the afternoon they constructed a small cofferdam to block water from flowing through the open outlet weir. There was a little leakage so this morning they draped a plastic sheet over the sandbags to stop the leaking. Then they built a tent around the work area and installed a portable propane heater to keep it warm. They then got to work finishing removing the old blocks of concrete fascia that formed the original log weir and constructing the steel rebar structure that will reinforce the concrete weir they’re building. The plan is to have it formed up and ready to pour concrete this coming Friday, and just in time too, as a large rain event is forecast for next weekend.
Here are a few pictures of the start of this next and final phase of effort:
You can see all the pictures in the Fall 2018 Gallery.
This is so exciting I can hardly stand it 🙂
11 December 2018: Clary Lake Water Level Order Transfer Complete
We are pleased to announce that the Department of Environmental Protection has approved the transfer of the Clary Lake Water Level Order from Pleasant Pond Mill LLC to the Clary Lake Association. There was never really any question that the Department would approve the license transfer given that the State openly endorsed our effort to purchase the dam from Kelley’s bankruptcy estate, but it is nonetheless very nice to have this matter behind us. The WLO which was appealed right after it was issued in late January 2014, was upheld by the Lincoln County Superior Court in a ruling issued February 26, 2016. Now, if someone complains about how we’re managing the lake level, we will simply say we’re obeying the Order and if they don’t like it, they can take it up with the DEP.
As usual with DEP rulings, aggrieved parties have 30 days (from December 7th) to appeal the decision. Good luck with that! The chances of it being overturned are ZERO.
05 December 2018: Let’s Go Skating!
Good Skating on Clary Lake but as usual, you should use caution, check the ice thickness where you’re planning to skate, and avoid areas where there is likely to be a current i.e., the inlet and outlet of the lake, and where streams are entering. There was a little open water in the middle of the lake yesterday but it’s frozen today and the rest of the lake has been frozen since Thanksgiving. I wouldn’t be driving your car on the ice just yet, but around the edges there is 4″ to 6″ of good ice, mostly smooth and really great skating. With the cold temperature expected this week, the ice will put on thickness quickly.
November 2018 Water Level Chart Archived
November 2018
I have archived the November 2018 Water Level Chart (at left). I’m not sure what to say about it except that the lake level is too dam high! It is ironic that for the last seven years I’ve been wishing for HIGHER water, only to now find myself hoping for a LOWER water level so we can complete repairs to the Clary Lake dam. The lake rose only 6″ in October, and I had hoped that gradual rate of increase of the water level would continue into November, but it was not to be. We started the month at -48.84″ below the high water mark, peaked at -29.88″ on the 15th, and ended the month at -32.64″ below the high water mark. There is currently about 8″ of water flowing over the original log flume, enough to prevent finishing the repairs at this time.
We received 7.10″ of rain in November or a whopping 2.73″ more than the average for the month. This brings us to 39.06″ for the year to date, 0.39″ more than average. I suppose, considering how much rain we received in November, we’re lucky the lake didn’t rise even more. I attribute this to the vastly increased outflows resulting from opening up the original 7′ wide log flume in the middle of the dam on November 9th. Continue reading