05 November 2015: Whitefield Selectmen to Hold Meeting on Clary Lake Abatement Requests

There is an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff reporter Abigail Adams about an informational meeting to be held by the Whitefield Selectmen for Clary Lake shore owners who filed property tax abatement requests this past fall due to the impact low lake levels have had on their property values. The meeting will be held on November 17th at the Select Board’s regularly scheduled Tuesday night board meeting. The article states that the aim of the meeting is to educate landowners about the town’s current valuation methods for waterfront property. Apparently some of the abatement requests were not considered because they were received after the deadline for filing them. Abatement requests have to be filed within 185 days of when the taxes are committed.

Assessor’s Agent Tom Hayes who is quite familiar with the water level issue plaguing lake shore owners stated that Whitefield’s valuation for shore front property is already “as low as it gets.” This is small consolation to property owners who can’t deploy their docks, launch their boats, go swimming, or otherwise use and enjoy the lake in the manner in which they have become accustomed. People trying to sell their property are finding it almost impossible because of the low water conditions on their shoreline. The low water conditions which have persisted more or less continuously for the last 4 years were especially worse this past summer due to the extremely dry conditions with the lake reaching levels lower than anyone can remember.

Whitefield Selectmen to Hold Meeting on Clary Lake Abatement Requests

Continue reading →

02 November 2015: New “Minimum Flows Explained” Page

Screen shot from the StreamStats program showing Clary Lake and the various streams making up the watershed.

I’ve been working on a page that explains minimum flows for a while now, and I guess it’s close enough to done for general consumption. I’ll update it from time to time as my understanding of this subject grows or new information becomes available. You’ll find the page under the Programs/Education main menu heading. Here’s a link to it:

Minimum Flows Explained

The picture at left is from the new USGS StreamStats hydrology mapping system, a really cool web-based application that lets you investigate watershed and stream flow data, from that small stream flowing through your back yard to the 145 square mile Sheepscot River drainage basin just like you knew what you were doing. I discuss the StreamStats program and how it might be used on the Minimum Flows Explained page.

Questions or comments are welcome. If anyone finds any errors or broken links please let me know.

31 October 2015: October 2015 Water Level Chart Archived

[dropcap]I’ve[/dropcap] archived the October 2015 water level chart (at left). The most notable thing about it is that sometime during the weekend of October 17/18 the gate on the dam was almost completely closed. The gate had been wide open since October 13, 2012. The gate still remains open about 3″ or 4″ or so, presumably so as to provide the minimum outlet flows calculated for Clary Lake and required in the Clary Lake water level order (WLO). Regrettably, the gate opening still allowed too much water to be released as the lake level continued to fall albeit at a somewhat slower than usual rate: the lake level dropped 0.15′ (1.80″) over the next 10 days (0.18″ per day; normal for this water level would be 0.25″ per day) until the 29th when we received 2.3″ of rain in one intense 12 hour storm. That the lake continued to fall after the gate was lowered clearly indicates that outflows from the dam exceeded inflows into the lake by measurable amount, which means too much water was being released. In my copious spare time I’ve been working on a post about minimum flows but it’s not ready so I’m not going go into them now. Minimum flows are fully explained in the Department of Environmental Protection Rules, Chapter 587: IN-STREAM FLOWS AND LAKE AND POND WATER LEVELS. While that’s not an easy document to wade through, it makes for interesting reading and fully explains the the purpose of minimum flows.

[dropcap]At[/dropcap] 45.84″ below the top of the dam, the lake level is higher now than it’s been since May 21st of this year. As high it seems that is still more than 2′ lower than it should be this time of year (no more than 2′ below the top of the dam). The 2.3″ rainstorm on the 29th brought the lake level up 8.76″ for a runoff multiplier of 3.8x which is still a little low indicating that runoff is somewhat reduced because the ground is still relatively dry and a lot of the rain is soaking in rather than running off. Average yearly rainfall for our area is about 42″ and as of the end of October, we’ve received only 29.41″ or more than 12″ less than normal, and only 2 months to make up the difference. Unlikely.

[dropcap]I[/dropcap] hate taking my boat out and I usually put off hauling out in the fall as long as I can. I think however I will take advantage of this increased lake level and haul my boat out tomorrow.

30 October 2015: Grand Army Weather station back online

Tim Chase’s Grand Army Weather Station and Web Cam have been offline since sometime in 2013. Last month I helped Tim get his Web Cam back up and running, and since then he’s been working at getting his new Grand Army Weather Station hardware set up, wired, and calibrated. Today we spent the afternoon working together and got his weather station updating his website again. We’ve got plans to give his site a face lift and add some additional functions and features later this winter. Stay tuned.

http://www.grandarmyweather.com/

The weather data is uploaded to the website every 30 minutes, 24 hours a day. It’s great to have a local weather station to refer to again, and I’ll probably use a some of the data on this site, and likely will start using the precipitation data on the Clary Lake water level charts.

29 October 2015: Water Level Order Enforcement: Where to from here?

[dropcap]I’ve[/dropcap] received a lot of inquiries about the September 28th Notice of Violation (NOV) and the recently issued letter from the DEP denying the dam owner’s request for a stay of enforcement, with everyone mostly wanting to know what’s next? Where does it go from here? My honest answer is I don’t know what’s next and I’d rather not engage in speculation. I have been pointing people at the Department of Environmental Protection’s Enforcement and Compliance web page for general information, and the Department’s “Non-Compliance Response Guidance” document for more a more detailed look at DEP’s enforcement options. One thing is perfectly clear: the DEP has come out swinging and has every intention of vigorously pursuing enforcement of the Clary Lake water level order.

24 October 2015: The DLWA, SVCA, HVNC, and SWLA Join Forces

[dropcap]The[/dropcap] Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association, the Hidden Valley Nature Center, the Sheepscot Valley Conservation Association, and the Sheepscot Wellspring Land Alliance have joined forces and formed a new organization, Midcoast Conservancy. Clary Lake is smack in the middle of the aggregate land area covered by this new organization. This alliance has been coming together slowly over the past year and it sounds like they’re now finalizing the transition. The following is from an announcement email I received from the HVNC a couple of days ago.

Displaying

Meet Midcoast Conservancy!

Our new name is just the beginning of an exciting period of transition

We listened to your input. We asked our supporters to weigh in on the new name of our merged organization and we received over 50 suggested names, nearly 400 responses to our survey, and nearly 200 helpful comments. Thank you! In addition we sought out help from marketing experts. All this pointed us back to Midcoast Conservancy! Continue reading →

23 October 2015: DEP denies PPM, AQF request to stay enforcement action

[dropcap]In[/dropcap] a 5 page letter issued just yesterday, the Department of Environmental Protection has denied the request by PretiFlaherty lawyers that they stay their enforcement action. The request for the stay was made in response to the recently issued Notice of Violation (EIS #2015-006-L) and was made on behalf of Clary Lake dam owner Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Clary Mill owner Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF, collectively Petitioners) by letter dated October 8th. The Department is standing firm on their decision to enforce the Clary Lake water level order (WLO) at this time, citing overwhelming evidence of violations by the dam owner. The letter mentioned a September 22nd site visit by Department staff at which time they noted among other things, extreme low water conditions, declining wetland habitat, and a useless State boat launch. The letter also mentions and cites concerns raised in the letter jointly written by Representative Deb Sanderson and Senator Chris Johnson, and in the letter from the Whitefield Select Board, both of which appear to have been carefully considered in the Department’s decision to take action at this time. Continue reading →

22 October 2015 Lincoln County News: DEP Issues Notice of Violation of Clary Lake Water Level Order

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] number of newsworthy things have happened this week, and of course I’ve been away and unable to update the website in a timely fashion. I’ll get caught up as soon as I can. To start, there is a lengthy article in this week’s Lincoln County News by staff writer Abigail Adams about DEP’s September 28th Notice of Violation. The article also covers the October 8th response filed by PretiFlaherty attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) requesting the Department stay (put on hold) their enforcement action, pending the outcome of the appeal of the Water Level Order (WLO) in Lincoln County Superior Court. Ms. Adams interviewed a number of people for the story and includes quotes from Paul Kelley, Richard Smith, PretiFlaherty litigator Tim Connolly, and DEP spokesperson David Madore. I was also interviewed for the article, and accurately quoted.

The article contains a couple of misstatements worth pointing out. First the article states: “AquaFortis Associates was named alongside Pleasant Pond Mill in the petition, however the water level order issued in January 2014 only named Pleasant Pond Mill.” In fact, Aquafortis Associates was both named in the petition AND, along with PPM, as a party subject to the final Water Level Order. Continue reading →

18 October 2015 Kennebec Journal: DEP issues violation notice on Clary Lake water level

[dropcap]There[/dropcap] is an article in today’s Kennebec Journal (and Morning Sentinel) by Central Maine Papers staff writer Jessica Lowell about the Notice of Violation issued by the Department of Environmental Protection on September 28th (see: DEP takes enforcement action, issues a Notice of Violation). The article is factually accurate and lists the specific violations in the NOV, namely:

failing to meet the 2014 water level order;
failing to submit a surveyed plan showing the normal high-water mark of Clary Lake;
failing to obtain DEP approval for a final water level management plan;
failing to install a lake gauge and file a report detailing the inspection results of its installation;
and failing to allow the lake to rise gradually between ice-out in 2015 until Aug. 1;

The article also states that Attorneys for Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM) and Aquafortis Associates LLC (AQF) contend that among other issues, complying with the notice of violation is impossible because it sets deadlines that cannot be met, noting that PPM has only 15 days to comply with the minimum flow provisions of the water level order and to “undertake all other steps necessary to prevent further dewatering of the lake and begin raising the level of the lake in compliance with the (water level order).

DEP issues violation notice on Clary Lake water level

I’ll post a link to an archived copy shortly.

13 October 2015: DEP takes enforcement action, issues a Notice of Violation

At long last, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection has taken decisive action by issuing a Notice of Violation (EIS #2015-006-L) to Pleasant Pond Mill LLC (PPM, as the record owner of the Clary Lake dam), Paul A. Kelley, Jr., as former manager and sole member of PPM, Aquafortis Associates, LLC (AQF, as an entity asserting flowage rights), and Richard L. Smith, as manager and sole member of AQF. The Notice of Violation (NOV), issued on September 28, 2015, alleges that each day since at least October 1, 2014 constitutes a violation of the Water Level Order (WLO) and a separate offense. In addition to the NOV, the Department “retains its right to enforce its water level order by any other appropriate remedy, including, but not limited to, entering the dam premises to carry out the terms of the water level order.” Continue reading →

10 October 2015: Realtime access to Clary WebCam video now available

I’ve set up the Clary WebCam video feed to be accessible for remote viewing in real time over the internet. I mean, why not? If it turns out bandwidth usage is prohibitive or other problems materialize, I’ll shut it off but I seriously doubt we’ll have a problem. I can’t imagine too many people will want to camp out at their computers watching video of Clary Lake on the off chance they’ll see a bird fly by, or a fish jump, but you never can tell. The current static image, updated ever 2 minutes, will still be available on the WebCam page if that’s all you’re interested in.

There are various ways to connect to the camera. Regardless of which method you use to connect, you’ll have to login to the camera with the username guest and the password 123abc. Two easy ways to connect are: Continue reading →

09 October 2015: Clary Webcam back in operation

[dropcap]Thanks[/dropcap] to a generous donation from someone who wishes to remain anonymous, we have a new Clary Cam! It’s a Foscam model F19803P Outdoor Wireless IP camera (with 720P video) and it arrived this afternoon by UPS. I’ve been messing around with it at my desk this evening, and getting it configured. It is considerably more robust and sophisticated than the old camera (which was also a Foscam) but its software is pretty much identical which made the back end installation on the server a breeze. It was essentially a drop-in replacement. The old camera was actually an indoor webcam but it was quite happy to live outdoors under a small glass terrarium to keep the elements off it… this wasn’t a perfect arrangement. This new camera needs no such amenities. I expect I’ll have to wipe snow off the lens once in a while but otherwise it should be pretty much trouble free. Like the old camera, this on houses a 1.3 megapixel CCD with a 70° field of view generating pretty good looking 1280 x 720 pixel images.

Tonight the camera is sitting on my desk upstairs looking out the window- the picture above was taken this afternoon. I’ll install it outdoors tomorrow. I may or may not put it in the same place as the old camera: this camera has a better wireless receiver so where it is located is really limited to how long a power cord I decide to run. For now it’s going to upload a picture to the website every 2 minutes, and I may extend the hours of operation since this camera has an infrared light source which the manufacturer claims allows nighttime visibility up to 65′ (we’ll see how well that works). It can also be setup to allow people to login to the camera over the internet and view live video but I don’t think I’ll allow that because of the bandwidth requirements. Would be fun though…

05 October 2015: Miscellaneous Site Updates

I’ve revised/updated a couple of pages on the site and want to bring the changes to your attention. First some time in the past 2 weeks the data table on the Clary Lake Water Monitoring Data page and needed to be rebuilt. I ended up replacing it with a really cool table system that allows you to do stuff like sort the data on any column. As it turns out, being able to sort the data can reveal some interesting trends.

The other change is to the Clary Lake Water Level Charts page. Though it doesn’t really look all that different, the changes to the back end system are significant. Updates are now mostly automated making it much easier for me to maintain and update the page. The most time consuming part is still walking down to the lake to make the measurement which is a ritual I have become so used to I don’t even think about it any more. Also, page updates (which happen almost daily) can be done without the site cache clearing itself which will improve overall site performance. The cache will still clear periodically, but it no longer does so daily simple because of a minor page update.

One of these days I’ll get a new camera for the Clary Lake webcam. There’s currently no money in the budget for it.

01 October 2015: End of September rain event impacts lake water quality

Over 4″ of rain fell in less than 24 hours on September 30, 2015 resulting in severe sedimentation of Clary Lake from shore erosion and stream scouring. This short video show the stream at the Jefferson/Whitefield town line on the south side of the lake. What isn’t really evident in the video is the plume of sediment washing out into the lake.

Needless to say, if the lake level were where it should be this time of year (between 1′ and 2′ below the top of the dam) this rain event would have had little impact on lake water quality.

01 October 2015: September 2015 water level chart archived

I’ve archived the September 2015 water level chart (at left) which clearly shows the impact of the recent drought conditions. The lake level averaged -65.86″ below the top of the dam and never varying more than ±1″ from that level until the last day of the month when we received over 4″ of rain in less than 24 hours. By 7:30 PM on the 30th the rain had stopped but it was still way too windy to get an accurate measurement of the lake level though it appears it had come up about 12″. No doubt today will see an additional rise in lake level but I wouldn’t expect it to come up too much more because a lot of what would normally have run off into the lake ended up soaking into the very dry ground.

And just like that, we went from 1.52″ of rain to 5.52″ for the month. The extreme runoff has resulted in considerable lake sedimentation resulting from shore erosion and stream bed scouring. If the lake level were where it should be this time of year (between 1′ and 2′ below the top of the dam) this rain event would have had little impact on lake water quality. I shot a short video yesterday afternoon showing a flooded stream entering the lake, which I’ll post later.

29 September 2015: Clary Lake Association sends letter of appreciation to Whitefield Select Board

CLA President and meeting moderator Malcolm Burson sits between State Representative Deb Sanderson and State Senator Christopher Johnson near the end of the August 26th meeting of Clary Lake shore owners and town of Whitefield representatives. Photograph by George Fergusson 26 August 2015

Clary Lake Association President Malcolm Burson, on behalf of the entire Association membership, has sent a short but sweet letter to the Whitefield Select Board thanking them for their recent letter to the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection. The Select Board’s letter did more than just voice support for the letter jointly written by Representative Deb Sanderson and Senator Christopher Johnson, they went on to describe in no uncertain terms the reasons for their concerns over the Clary Lake water level crisis, their dissatisfaction with the State’s failure to take enforcement action, and their hope that the State do everything they can to speed the process along. The Town of Whitefield Select Board which has always been supportive of the Clary Lake Association has now added their voice to the growing chorus of voices calling for a rapid resolution to this crisis:

CLA President’s Letter to Whitefield Board 09-28-2015

The Town of Jefferson has every bit as much at stake as Whitefield, and more, and we’re sincerely hoping their Select Board will take similar action soon.

A few Super Moon Total Lunar Eclipse Photos

The September 27, 2015 Super Moon total lunar eclipse about 15 minutes before totality. Notice the 3 stars below the moon! Photographed by George Fergusson using a Nikon D3300 DSLR at the prime focus of a 6″ f/5 newtonian reflector at the Brower Observatory in Whitefield.

About 20 people including half a dozen children showed up at the Brower Observatory the last Sunday night to observe the Super Moon total lunar eclipse. There were a number of telescopes set up to observe the moon. The main function of a telescope is to collect light and usually bigger is better but since the moon is so bright, you don’t really need a big telescope to get good views of it. I set up my 6″ f/5 Newtonian reflector that I built back in 1975 and attached my Nikon D3300 DSLR camera at the prime focus and took a whole bunch of photographs, a few of which I’ve uploaded to the User Uploads gallery. The moon can be a challenging object to photograph because it’s very bright and usually lacks contrast. These came out nicely I thought:

David Hodsdon also uploaded a lovely picture he took of the moon as it rose across the lake from his home.

The Central Maine Astronomical Society (CMAS) holds star parties at the Brower Observatory every couple of months. Star parties are open to the general public and you need not own a telescope, all you really need to bring is your interest and imagination. CMAS also periodically hosts star parties at the Galaxy Quest Observatory in Lincolnville and at the Damariscotta River Association‘s headquarters at 110 Belvedere Road in Damariscotta. I‘ll post CMAS events at the Brower Observatory on our Events Calendar.

Brower Observatory to host Super Moon Total Eclipse Party

eclipse_montage-espenak Most of you have probably heard about the upcoming total lunar eclipse. The Central Maine Astronomical Society will be hosting a Total Lunar Eclipse party which is open to club members and the public at the Brower Observatory in Whitefield this coming Sunday evening, September 27th starting at about 8:00 PM. The eclipse proper starts at 9:07 PM EST and will last for a couple of hours. There will be telescopes set up to observe the eclipse. Some people will be trying to photograph the event, but mostly, people will be standing around, socializing, and gawking at the moon. Bring binoculars and dress warmly.

The Brower Observatory is located off Route 126 on the Fergusson property in Whitefield. The driveway is on the south side of the road next to 3 mailboxes directly across the road from the Fergusson farmhouse and about 300′ west of the Jefferson Town Line. Hard to miss. There will be a sign. The link at left includes directions.

Here’s a great link for information about the eclipse:

http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/lunar/2015-september-28

24 September 2015: Whitefield selectmen urge DEP to enforce Clary Lake water level order

Last week I attended the Whitefield Select Board meeting on behalf of the Clary Lake Association to ask the Selectmen to write a letter voicing their support of the letter recently written by Representative Sanderson and Senator Johnson. They said they would. At their regularly scheduled meeting earlier this week the Whitefield Select Board members reviewed the letter and all 5 signed it. The letter is to be sent to parties at DEP and the Office of the Attorney General, and to the Lincoln County Commissioners. Copies of the letter will also be widely distributed by email perhaps as early as today. It’s a great letter that does more than just voice the Select Board’s support of the Sanderson/Johnson letter. The letter details their special concerns including lack of access to water for fire fighting purposes, the impact of the low water conditions of the town’s residents use and enjoyment of Clary Lake, and the loss of valuable wetland and wildlife habitat:

Whitefield Select Board Letter to DEP/AG 09-22-2015

This is not the first time the Whitefield Select Board has written letters regarding the Clary Lake water level crisis. In late April 2013 shortly after Pleasant Pond Mill LLC filed a petition for release from dam ownership or water level maintenance, they wrote a letter to DEP and later, in August 2014, they wrote a letter to AAG Thomas Harnett. I am grateful that the Whitefield Select Board has been so supportive. I will be meeting with the Jefferson Select Board in the near future to ask them to write a letter in support of the

Lincoln County News staff writer Abigail Adams was at the last Whitefield Select Board meeting and has written an excellent article in this week’s Lincoln County News about the letter. The article includes some good background material:

Whitefield selectmen urge DEP to enforce Clary Lake water level order

24 September 2015: Grand Army Weather Station coming back online

Tim Chase’s Grand Army Weather Station website has been down for a few years. I’ve been helping him get it back up and running. Today we swapped in a new camera and got the Webcam working again. The picture at left shows Tim this morning up on the roof of his house at the top of Grand Army Hill. This new camera is much better than the original one. The view out over the Sheepscot River valley from up there is outstanding. I’ve added a Grand Army Weather Cam page on this site, because I can. You’ll find the link to it under the Pictures main menu heading (under the Clary Lake Webcam). Later this fall I’ll be helping Tim get his new weather station up and running online. Stay tuned!