And we’re off! On May 22nd after weeks of preparation, Bankruptcy Trustee Jeffrey T. Piampiano, Esq. has finally filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court a Motion to Sell the Clary Lake dam to the Clary Lake Association. The Trustee also filed at the same time a “Notice of Sale and Invitation to Bid Motion” and a “Motion for Substantive Consolidation” (more about this later). A hearing has been scheduled for June 7th at 2:00 PM at the United States Bankruptcy Court at 537 Congress Street in Portland Maine to consider the proposed bid procedures and act on the Motion for Substantive Consolidation. Objections to the motions must be filed by June 5th. A hearing date for the Sale Motion proper will be set at the June 7th hearing for sometime later in June, presumably also in Portland, though that remains to be seen. All of these hearings are open to the public should you want to attend. I’ll post the Sale Motion hearing date, time, and place as soon as it has been scheduled. Assuming the Judge approves the Sale Motion, we should own the Clary Lake dam before the end of June 🙂 Continue reading
15 May 2018: “Buy the Dam” Fundraising Campaign Officially Ends
Today (May 15, 2018) marks the official end of our Spring 2018 “Buy the Dam” fundraiser and we would like to publicly acknowledge and thank our (anonymous) matching donors and by name, those other individuals, members and non-members alike, who have helped make our campaign such an outstanding success. We have reached our fundraising goal of $125,000 and we are extremely gratified by the outpouring of support for our efforts to buy the dam and protect and preserve Clary Lake. Donations arrived not just from people in our local communities of Whitefield and Jefferson, but also from people from elsewhere around Maine, and around the Country. Donations are expected to continue to arrive over the coming weeks, and the funds will be put to good use. There will be more work to do, and ongoing recurring expenses that need to be covered so if you haven’t yet donated, it is not too late! Continue reading
April 2018 Water Level Chart Archived
April 2018
I have archived the April 2018 Water Level Chart (at left). There is nothing particularly notable about the April chart but it was nice to see the lake rise above -24″ for the last 3rd of the month (the lake is currently about as low as you’ll ever see it once we own the dam). The level lake rose over 18″ as the result of 4.5″ of rainfall despite the gate being wide open. The hole in the dam appears to have been partially blocked by flotsam which impeded the outflow. Precipitation for the year stands at 11.53″ which is only 0.68″ less than average. Perhaps the drought trend that has plagued us for the last couple of years is ending?
30 April 2018: Check Your Spam Folder!
I’ve sent emails to our Membership 3-4 times in the past few months including one yesterday afternoon. Generally only about 3/4 of them get opened. Now, by unsolicited commercial email standards (a.k.a. Spam) that’s a fantastic open rate, but I’m not sending spam, I’m providing important news and updates of special interest to our Members and if possible I’d like to see ALL of the emails opened. If you are a Clary Lake Association member and you haven’t seen any emails from us in recent weeks, chances are the emails are getting dumped into your spam folder. So first, check your spam folder! You may have to train your email program that emails received from webmaster@clarylake.org are not spam (generally you just open the message and click the “not spam” button). The other possibilities are that we either don’t have your email address (19 of our current 138 members have not provided us with an email address) or we have the wrong address. None of our emails have bounced, but not all mail hosts still bounce bad addresses; some do, some don’t. Therefore, if you are a CLA Member, have an email address but haven’t received any emails from us, please email me!
27 April 2018: Water Quality Monitoring Resumes for 2018
Secchi Disk readings 1975 to Present
We have resumed our water quality monitoring for the 2018 season. David Hodsdon and I went out this morning and collected secchi disk (transparency, see chart at left) readings and dissolved oxygen data as well as a water sample to be analyzed for Total Phosphorus content. We go out and collect data every 2 weeks during the boating season. This data gets sent to the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program (formerly VLMP, now Lake Stewards of Maine) and is also available on this site on our Water Monitoring Data page. The Secchi disk chart shows a general decline in water transparency over the last 15 years with a marked decline over the last 7-10 years, no doubt the result of generally lower water levels associated with Pleasant Pond Mill’s mismanagement of the lake level.
Total Phosphorus
Decreasing transparency goes hand in hand with increasing levels of Total Phosphorus, as the chart at left shows. Phosphorus is plant food and is the primary cause of algae blooms which have been increasingly a problem in recent years. We experienced our first algae bloom in 2009 and have experienced blooms almost every year since then, the exception being 2016 and 2017 when we were in severe drought. Drought means lack of rain which results in less runoff which results in less Phosphorus entering the lake. Higher Phosphorus levels combined with lower water levels are a recipe for algae blooms.
Hopefully all this will change once the Clary Lake Association owns the dam.
26 April 2018: Fundraising Continues, New Matching Donor Found
We’ve been busy! Our original matching donor cut off at $45,000. We have actually managed to secure another matching donor (who also wishes to remain anonymous) who will match up to an additional $10,000 worth of donations! Seeing as how we’re currently at almost $107,000, an additional $10,000 in donations along with these new matching funds will push us over the top of our phase 2 fundraising goal of $125,000. This means we should be able to make permanent repairs to the Clary Lake dam this summer, rather than having to wait a year. Our fundraising success has been incredibly gratifying and shows just how much people want this water level crisis to end. If you haven’t donated to our fundraising campaign yet, please consider doing so at your earliest opportunity. Checks may be sent to:
Clary Lake Association
PO Box 127
Whitefield ME 04353
Alternatively you can visit our Donate to the Association page and donate via Paypal.
We’re making progress towards purchasing the Clary Lake dam from the Bankruptcy Court, but it’s slow going just now. We’ll provide more updates as information becomes available. Your patience is appreciated.
21 April 2018: CLA Fundraising Campaign Extended
We reached our initial Phase 1 fundraising goal of $90,000 much sooner than expected and while the Board hadn’t discussed trying to raise additional funds for permanent repairs so soon, it only makes sense that we maintain our forward fundraising momentum and move right into Phase 2 fundraising without delay! We needed the initial funds to purchase the dam in a relative hurry, however Phase 2 fundraising can proceed at a somewhat more leisurely pace. The money is to pay for engineering services and for permanent dam repairs which we won’t need to spend for a while. We have only begun working on getting prices and we won’t have a firm budget for the work yet. However, some preliminary estimates we’ve received indicate we’ll need at least $30,000 for this second and final phase of effort, possibly more, hence a new fundraising goal of $125,000. We may need to revise that figure upward but for now it seems like both a realistic goal and an achievable one. I haven’t felt the need to reset our donation thermometer and have instead just added $35,000 to the original $90,000 goal giving a new goal of $125,000. The money all goes into the same pot, so to speak. Any money left over after permanent repairs are completed will be use to fund ongoing dam maintenance and repairs. Owning the Clary Lake dam is a big commitment and we’re taking it seriously. Continue reading
20 April 2018: Clary Lake is (Finally) Ice Free!
Clary Lake is finally ice free! Much of the lake has been free of ice for the past 4-5 days, but there was a large raft of ice down in the east end by the State boat launch that refused to dissipate. That ice is gone as of this morning. The loons are back and there are ducks and geese all over the place. I love spring! Historically, April 20th is a little late, but not by much. We have ice-in and ice-out dates going back to 2001:
I plan to get my boat in the water this weekend. Let the boating season begin!
19 April 2018: We Have Reached Our Phase 1 Fundraising Goal!
In only two short weeks of fundraising we have met our phase 1 goal of $90,000!!!! Many, many thanks to everyone who contributed, and special thanks to our patron who has matched donations dollar for dollar. I’m truly grateful for the outpouring of support, financial and otherwise, shown by our members, other lake shore owners, and friends of Clary Lake in the surrounding community.
However, our fundraising efforts haven’t ended with this early victory, in fact we’ve really just begun so please, if you have intended to make a donation but just haven’t gotten a round to it yet, please do so at your earliest opportunity! We plan to make temporary repairs to the dam as soon as we own it, but some unanticipated expenses and the need to make permanent dam repairs not too far down the road means we’re going to need more money before long. The more money we can raise now, the sooner we can move on to that next phase.
Our rapid fundraising success has actually caught us a little flat-footed as we still have a lot to do as we move forward with purchasing the Clary Lake dam. The Board is working diligently on multiple fronts. Stay tuned for developments!
11 April 2018 Lincoln County News: Clary Lake Group Raising Funds to Purchase Dam
There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff writer Greg Foster about our plan to purchase the Clary Lake dam. It is for the most part factually accurate which is particularly impressive given the both complexity of this story and Mr. Foster’s being relatively new to it. The part about the CLA making an offer on the little red building sitting on the dam was really just me daydreaming out loud, something one probably shouldn’t do when being interviewed for a newspaper story! For the record, the Association currently has no plans to make an offer on the red building:
Can’t beat the publicity: I was at the check out at Sheepscot General this evening when someone came up to me and gave me a $10 bill saying it was to help purchase the Clary Lake dam 🙂
I’ve archived a PDF copy of the article should you have trouble getting it off the Lincoln County News site:
07 April 2018 Centralmaine.com: Fundraising starts to buy Clary Lake dam in Whitefield
There is an article in this morning’s Centralmaine.com newspapers (Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel) by Staff writer Jessica Lowell. There are a couple of minor inaccuracies but all in all it’s a good article, and GREAT publicity. It’s also nice to see they finally got some new pictures to go with their Clary Lake articles:
I thought I was smiling 🙂
Here’s an archived copy in case at some point in the future you can’t get to the on line version:
05 April 2018: And We’re Off!
More than 30 people showed up for the April 4th Special Membership Meeting to vote on purchasing the Clary Lake dam. The vote passed with overwhelming support. We also had over 100 proxy ballots on hand. Photograph by George Fergusson 04 April 2018
At a Special Clary Lake Association Membership Meeting held last night (picture at left) the Membership overwhelmingly voted to approve the purchase of the Clary Lake dam from the dam owner’s bankruptcy estate for $80,000 and has further authorized the Board to raise and spend the money necessary to make it happen. To that end, we have begun fund raising in earnest. Our current goal is to raise at least $90,000 by May 15th and hopefully much sooner. That figure includes funds for settlement costs and temporary dam repairs so we can start managing the water level to comply with the DEP Water Level Order. If for some reason the sale does not receive Bankruptcy Court approval, all donated funds will be returned, but the chances of that happening are slim. Let’s think positive and get to work! Continue reading
Upcoming Special Membership Meeting Reminder
A quick reminder for our Clary Lake Association Members: we’re holding a Special Membership Meeting this coming Wednesday April 4th at 5:00 PM at Sheepscot General Store on Townhouse Road in Whitefield. The purpose of the meeting is to vote on two Articles pertaining to the Clary Lake dam. If you’ve already sent in your proxy ballot, why not come by the meeting anyways! It will be a great opportunity to ask questions and find out how you can help. If you’re not a Clary Lake Association member, please consider joining! In any case, you’re welcome to come by and see what all the flap is about.
Hope to see you there!
March 2018 Water Level Chart Archived
March 2018
I have archived the March 2018 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable feature of the March chart is how little the lake level fell over the course of the month despite the lack of precipitation received (less than an inch all told). This (relatively) stable level was likely the result of channel friction due to heavy ice cover in the march and increased runoff from ground water and melting snow partly making up for the outflows from the dam. Precipitation for the month was only 0.91″ which is way below the March average of 3.39″ putting us at only 7.00″ for the year to date, 1.43″ below normal. Hopefully spring rains will make up the difference. I only measured the lake level 13 times in March and nobody seemed to notice 🙂
20 March 2018 Central Maine Papers: Clary Lake residents await enforcement of water level order
There is an article in today’s Central Maine Papers (Kennebec Journal, Morning Sentinel) about the recent Superior Court ruling by staff writer Jessica Lowell:
Clary Lake residents await enforcement of water level order following years of dispute
Love all the publicity 🙂
Here’s an archived copy if perchance you can’t get to the newspaper’s website:
20 March 2018: The Clary Lake Water Level Order Stands
It’s been 3 weeks since the recent Superior Court ruling affirming the Clary Lake Water Level Order, and Aquafortis Associates LLC has apparently decided not to challenge it. I just spoke to the Lincoln County Superior Court Clerk who confirmed that no filing announcing a Law Court appeal had been made by the March 19th deadline. Also, rumor has it that Preti Flaherty who for years has been counsel to Aquafortis Associates no longer represents them. You can’t go to the Supreme Court without a lawyer.
While I’m pleased as can be, their decision not to appeal does not come as a big surprise to me. And that’s that.
15 March 2018 Maine Public Radio: Court Rules in Favor of Clary Lake Association
I was briefly phone-interviewed yesterday afternoon by Ed Morin of Maine Public Radio about the recent Superior Court ruling. I didn’t hear the broadcast or find a link to the audio story, but I did find this short article on the Maine Public website:
Court Rules in Favor of Clary Lake Association
More publicity!
14 March 2018 Lincoln County News: DEP’s Court Win Clears Way for Clary Lake Water Level to Return
We haven’t had a Lincoln County News reporter covering Clary Lake since sometime last summer, until now. Reporter Greg Foster has written a great first article on Clary Lake:
DEP’s Court Win Clears Way for Clary Lake Water Level to Return
Here’s an archived PDF copy if you have trouble getting the article off the LCN website:
05 March 2018: What’s Next for the Water Level Order?
Hmmmm…
In light of the recent Superior Court decision affirming the Clary Lake Water Level Order [WLO], people are quite justified in asking “What’s next?” regarding the DEP taking enforcement action. The Water Level Order after all was issued over 4 years ago and we have been waiting way too long for the court case to conclude. Winning this hugely important battle was a crucial step towards bringing the Clary Lake dam into compliance with the WLO, but the war isn’t over yet. While I don’t know exactly how things are going to play out, I do firmly believe (and have believed all along) that we will ultimately prevail in our battle to restore Clary Lake, and I will continue to do everything in my power to bring about a satisfactory resolution of our water level crisis as quickly as possible. But what’s next, and how long do we have to wait for a resolution? Continue reading
February 2018 Water Level Chart Archived
February 2018
I have archived the February 2018 Water Level Chart (at left). The most notable feature of the February chart is how little the lake level changed over the course of the month despite the gate being wide open and with no major precipitation events to generate runoff. We started the month at -29.28″ below the normal high water mark and ended the month at -33.24″ below the normal high water mark, only 3.96″ lower that we started. The lake level was also above the hole in the dam for the whole month, increasing the amount of water leaving the lake. Nonetheless, the lake level stayed pretty flat for the month; I attribute the relatively stable lake level to reduced outflows as a result of channel friction and ice cover in the marsh which has been unusually thick this winter. Precipitation for the month was 2.28″ which is a little less than the historical average of 2.44″ for the month of February. Year to date our precipitation total is 6.09″ which is an inch more than average.