04 October 2014: Who says the State boat launch is unusable?

Jack Holland called me earlier today and told me to get over to the boat launch and bring a camera. I didn’t stop to ask questions, I just dashed off. Well, the scene I encountered when I arrived there a few minutes later defied comprehension (see picture upper left). Nonplussed, I decided to just shoot first and ask questions later (you’ll find them in the new Fall 2014 gallery). I also decided to shoot a couple of videos. The first one shows them hauling the Cat loader out of the muck:

I was surprised and impressed those 2 trucks managed to drag that loader out, I’m pretty sure it weighed more than both trucks put together. Then with the loader out of the way, they were able to address the pickup truck problem:

I guess this situation would be funny if it weren’t so tragic. Backing your truck into the lake to get your boat because there isn’t enough water at the end of the ramp was not a great idea, getting stuck was virtually guaranteed. Getting the Cat loader stuck was inevitable once the (bad) decision was made to drive that into the lake to pull out the truck. Then they called dad.

These kids were fortunate really, nobody injured, nothing lost but face. Oh. And a broken drive shaft. And a tow rope. They stirred up a plume of clay sediment (visible in the above video) that will take a while to settle out and they’ve left some ruts in the lake bottom that will be there for years to come, but to put things in perspective, really, the environmental impact of their silly escapade is inconsequential in comparison to that being visited on Clary Lake by the dam owner himself, and through their inaction, the Department of Environmental Protection. Kids will be kids. While it is easy to be critical of their behavior, I can remember doing some pretty stupid things myself when I was young. Nothing like this of course.

03 October 2014: The lake is about as low as it’s going to get

The other day I posted the September Water Level Chart and I speculated at that time that I thought the lake was about as low as it is going to get. Tim Harkins had related how he’d tried to get into the channel and couldn’t find it. Well today I headed out in my kayak to the northwest end of the lake to try to find my way into the channel. I couldn’t. I could see where the water was flowing, but I ran aground in about 3″ of water trying to follow it. I didn’t push it because I didn’t want to get stuck.

The rate at which the lake level has been falling has been dropping off rapidly and as the following plot shows, it has about hit bottom:

Plot of water level versus day number.

The chart shows 36 days of falling water levels starting on August 16th and extending through today. Now I’m not saying the lake can’t fall any lower, but from the looks of that curve it is unlikely. Theoretically it could drop another couple of inches if we continue without receiving any rain, but that is unlikely. Without any rain, springs and water seeping out of the water table is sufficient flow to offset the 1/8″ per day the lake is falling.

What it interesting is that back in April 2012 the lake level fell to 62.25″ below the top of the dam, 2″ lower than it is now. It is hard to imagine the lake falling that low again. I suspect the sediment “dam” blocking the channel is the result of ice pushing against the lake bottom.

02 October 2014: Another lake shore owner writes State

Another impassioned email this one from Clary Lake shore owner Rick Gallion, confounded by the low water conditions and the apparent lack of any enforcement action being taken against the dam owner by the Department of Environmental Protection. We know from Beth Callahan’s response to Jean McWilliam’s letter from the other day that the State has decided to hold off on enforcement action against dam owner Pleasant Pond Mill LLC pending the outcome of currently ongoing mediation. While this approach is somewhat understandable, it doesn’t make the situation out here on the water any easier to take.

September 30, 2014

Beth,

I wanted to alert you as to the seriousness of the low lake level of Clary Lake. Last weekend I only managed to get my small sailboat out of the lake with great difficulty, and possibly some damage because, as you can see, the level of the lake at the public boat launch is extremely low. A fisherman behind me had difficulty even getting his shallow draft, metal hulled fishing boat out. In the photo of the grassland with the lake in the distance, the water is usually nearly up to the photographer, and the wetland is teeming with wildlife.

There was a family at the boat launch and the children were trying to swim. One of them asked his mom “Where’s the water”. On a day as nice as it was that Sunday, there would usually be several family groups there enjoying the lake.

My wife and I own the Clary Lake Bed and Breakfast in Jefferson, very near the lake. Our business has suffered the last several years because people have stopped coming to visit families and friends who have camps on the lake. I have been unable to use my sailboat because the level is so low throughout the lake. I only put it in this year so that I could give my nephew from Kansas a sailing lesson, but I was very limited on where I could sail, and I won’t be able to use it until the lake level is restored.

I know that you and your department have been working very diligently on a lake level order for Clary Lake, and I do appreciate your efforts. I also know that the owner of the property that the dam is on continues to find new and different ways to delay and impede the process. My hope is only to remind you and your department of the negative effects that the mismanagement of the Clary Lake dam has had and continues to have on real people, in hopes that it may encourage you to make every effort to expedite the process, so that Clary Lake will once again be a fine recreation destination for the area, and the state.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Rick Gallion
Clary Lake B&B
777 Gardiner Road
Jefferson, ME 04348
207 549-5961

01 October 2014: September water level chart archived

I’ve just archived the September 2014 water level chart… and what a month it was. The effect of only having received 0.95″ of rain for the whole month (average is 3.74″) is painfully evident in the slowly but steadily declining water level over the course of the month. The water level is currently 60.24″ below the top of the dam. It can fall further, but not a whole lot further: an examination of the data used to create the chart shows that the rate at which the lake is falling is dropping off fairly quickly. At the beginning of the month it was falling between almost 3/4″ per day. Now, at the end of the month, it is falling about 1/4″ per day. At that rate, it won’t take much rain at all to offset the drop and the lake will bottom out, and stop falling. Last Friday Tim Harkins told me that he’d tried to get up into the meadow in his kayak but was unable to find the channel.

The likely explanation for the situation Tim encountered is that low water conditions combined with ice over the past couple of winters have caused the bottom sediments in the vicinity of the outlet to be pushed up forming a bar of sediment and that this bar is blocking the outlet channel, impeding the flow of water out of the lake and limiting how low the lake get get. This same mechanism- ice pushing against the lake bottom over time- is likely what created the sand bar that can be seen down by the State boat launch. In that case, there was enough water flowing into the lake to cut a channel through the sand bar. It remains to be seen if there’s enough water flowing out of the lake to do the same thing. I doubt it.

Two years ago the lake got down to 63.25″ below the top of the dam. Realistically I don’t think it can fall that low again, but I might be wrong. In any case I intend to go out and try to find the channel myself, later this week. Stay tuned.

29 September 2014: Irate Lake Shore Owner sends letter to DEP

I received the following email today sent by Clary Lake shore owner Jean McWilliams to Beth Callahan of the Department of Environmental Protection. Jean has every reason to be upset. We all do. One does have to wonder what the DEP is waiting for: the lake can’t get much lower.

September 29, 2014

Dear Ms. Callahan:

I am writing as a waterfront property owner on Clary Lake. I want to share my prospective as a resident on Clary Lake who has enjoyed this (previously) unspoiled lake for over 20 years.

This past weekend was warm and glorious and I planned to spend the weekend at our camp. Imagine my surprise when upon starting the water pump, there was no water. The first enclosed picture shows why; the water line was fully out of the water. I have already extended the line once since the near draining of the lake. Apparently my family won’t be able to use the camp for the rest of the season, thanks to Paul Kelley’s actions.

I’ve also attached a picture of my neighbor’s boat, high and dry as you can see. I am now 66 years old and have always planned to sell the camp in order to retire. As you can well imagine, property on Clary Lake is not exactly in demand. So much for retirement, and again, thanks to Mr. Kelley. I am simply stunned that this situation has continued for over 3 years. The DEP has issued a water level order. Mr. Kelley has ignored it. He clearly does not care about the environmental, economic and recreational damage his actions have caused. I strongly urge you to enforce the water level order and insist that Mr. Kelley follow the law. The blatant actions of this man are unacceptable and I ask that you enforce any and all regulations broken by Kelley.

Sincerely,

Jean McWilliams

Whitefield Selectman’s Meeting Agenda for Tuesday 23 September 2014

Town of Whitefield

Below is a tentative agenda for Tuesday’s meeting:

Town of Whitefield Selectmen’s Agenda
September 23, 2014

Item Time Agenda Item
6:00 pm Call meeting to order
Sign Minutes 9/9/14
6:05 pm Sign Warrants Accounts Payable/Payroll
6:15 pm Fuel bids
6:20 pm Roadside Brush cutting
6:30 pm Paul Kelley RE: Building transfer
7:00 pm Fred Duncan RE: Senott Rd./DEP Letter/Tax issue
7:15 pm Discussion

a. Inter local community cooperation
b. Next Week’s Agenda
c. Other
8:00 pm Adjournment

22 September 2014: Kelley Files Consultation Report with DEP

Paul Kelley has fulfilled the final statutory requirement of his Petition for Release from Dam Ownership or Water Level Maintenance by filing his consultation report detailing the results of his attempts to find a new owner for the Clary Lake dam. This concludes a process that he started over a year and a half ago. He filed the report late last Friday afternoon, 19 September 2014. I obtained copies of the report from the Department of Environmental Protection earlier today. I haven’t had a chance to read these reports yet, but I’m certain he will state that he’s met all the statutory requirements of the law, has found no one willing to assume ownership of the Clary Lake dam:

Of course, it’s a well-known fact that the Clary Lake Association would like to own the Clary Lake dam. However, anyone who has been on the receiving-end of Kelley’s sales pitch can only conclude that he really doesn’t want to sell it at all. Kelley’s petition has been written about numerous times on these news pages; if you want to find them select the category “That Other Petition” in the right side bar, or follow this link.

10 September 2014: Updated Bathymetric Chart available

I’ve updated the recently released bathymetric chart with new contours using some additional data in the vicinity of the ledges at the northwest end of the lake and a few other rocks. The revised contour map now clearly shows both those ledges and the rock currently marked by a white buoy in the vicinity of the Whitefield/Jefferson town line near the north shore. Also, the 148′ and 146′ contours have been replaced with 1′ depth contours making this version of the chart more accurate in depicting the shallow water around the shoreline. I will, as time permits, further refine the underlying data.

If you’re not seeing version 0.2 dated 09/10/2014 (check lower left hand corner) try clearing your browser’s image cache.

Several people asked about getting a contour map superimposed on an aerial photograph. No problem! There are now two images available, a large scale one and a smaller more manageable image (click on the thumbnail at upper left). They’re also available on the Maps, Charts, and Graphs page. You’ll also find a .KMZ file there which you can load into Google Earth.

06 September 2014: New Clary Lake contour map finally available

I have finally gotten around to generating a contour map of Clary Lake using data collected by the Department of Environmental Protection during their September 2012 bathymetric survey. In addition to the high resolution image pictured at left there’s a smaller version available, and a 24″x36″ PDF which is quite large but which can be viewed or printed out at about any scale you wish. Feel free to download them, you’ll find them and the other files pertaining to the original bathymetric survey over on the Maps, Charts, and Graphs gallery. Each image has a link in the description field to the full-sized image.

The data set consists of 3,265 points with each point defining a 3-dimensional location on the face of the earth (i.e., the latitude, longitude, and water depth below the top of the dam). The depth was measured with a depth meter and each depth measurement was paired with the latitude and longitude of the point obtained via GPS receiver. The data in the form of a spread sheet was supplied to us back in April 2013 along with a colorized bathymetric map of the lake generated from the data. This map was a marked improvement over the original depth map of Clary Lake, prepared by the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife back in late 1940s, but it lacks some real utility because it doesn’t show you what the bottom of the lake actually looks like- where the hills are, where the holes are, what the depth is at any given spot. According to the original depth map, the deepest spot in Clary Lake was only 23′ whereas we now know that the deepest spot is actually 29′ below the top of the dam. Continue reading →

01 September 2014: August water level chart archived

We’ve come to the end of another month, and I’ve archived the August water level chart. Despite the slightly less than average amount of rainfall in August (3.05″) and in spite of the fact that the dam’s gate has been wide open the whole time, the lake level remained in a fairly tight range of about ± 5″ for the month, starting out at a hair over 40″ below the top of the dam and ending the month a hair under 50″ below the top of the dam. In this range of water levels the lake tends to drop about 0.66″ per day, with the gate wide open. It doesn’t take much rain to bring the lake up a significant amount.

It is now just one month until October 1st, the date when the Clary Lake water level order is supposed to have been fully implemented. Given that Kelley has done absolutely nothing to implement the Order, it will be interesting to see what the DEP does when that date rolls around.

26 August 2014: Mapping DEP’s Bathymetric Data

In preparation for conducting a Water Level Survey sometime later this fall, I’ve put together an interactive map of the DEP’s bathymetric survey data using Google’s “Fusion Tables.” Each data point includes the latitude, longitude, and water depth in feet below the top of the dam. The data set consists of 3271 points, 6 of which I plugged in using data collected during our water monitoring activities. You can easily spot those as they fall in between the boat data tracks.

The deepest spot in the lake is about 28′ below the top of the dam. If your browser is failing to render the embedded map above, here’s a link to it:

Bathymetric Survey Fusion Table

The DEP conducted the field work in September 2012 and issued a colorized bathymetric survey the following spring. Eventually I will generate an actual contour map and also collect some additional data locating the rocks and ledges.

Maine VLMP hosting a Watershed Survey Workshop

Every year in early September the Maine VLMP holds a Watershed Survey Workshop in conjunction with the Department of Environmental Protection. I attended one put on by the Damariscotta Lake Watershed Association this past spring and found it both educational and fun. Anyone planning on helping out with updating the Clary Lake Association’s 2001 Watershed Survey (tentatively scheduled for next spring) would benefit greatly from attending this workshop. Contact me if you have any questions or would like more information.

Watershed Survey Workshops

2014 Watershed Survey Training Workshop

How to Identify, Monitor and Mitigate Ways in Which Watershed Land Use Influences Lake Water Quality

Fri. September 12, 10AM to 3PM – VLMP Lakes Center, Auburn

WatershedSurveyPicNewBkgd Virtually all of the natural characteristics of a lake are influenced by the land area, or watershed, that drains to the lake. But human activities that alter the natural protective features of lake watersheds can result in significant degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat over time, unless conservation measures are undertaken to protect the lake. This workshop will cover basic information about the relationship between lakes and their watersheds, common threats to lake water quality from watershed development, and how to identify and resolve problems through the watershed survey process. We will begin with an inside discussion, followed by a field trip to a nearby lake watershed.Please bring a brown bag lunch.

Pre-registration is required. To register please contact the VLMP office at 207-783-7733 orvlmp@mainevlmp.org.

18 August 2014: Whitefield Selectmen write the AAG

The Whitefield Selectmen have sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Thomas Harnett, the person handling the Clary Lake water level order and its pending appeal filed by Paul Kelley in Lincoln County Superior Court. The letter urges the AAG to expedite the current mediation process and enforce any violations of the water level order that may be found to exist. It was sent by email to the Service List. It has also just been posted on the Town of Whitefield’s Facebook page. It’s short and sweet so I’ll copy here in its entirety:

Thomas Harnett
Assistant Attorney General
Department of the Attorney General
State House Station 6
Augusta, Maine 04333-006

Dear Mr. Harnett:

The Town of Whitefield would like to convey to you its continuing concern about the
present state of water levels in Clary Lake. Since 2011, the lake level has been lowered and resulted in continuing and significant impacts to the environment and our community. Without going into details as they are well documented in the record, the low water level has adversely affected Clary Lake’s suitability for recreation, navigation and as a habitant for fish and other water dependent species. While the dam has been described by the owner as “breached”, it is in fact just damaged and reparable.

The Town is asking that your office actively use all means at its disposal to resolve
pending issues in order to restore Clary Lake water level to that which existed prior to 2011. In particular, your assistance in the expediting the current mediation process and enforcing any violations of the DEP’s water level order that may be found to exist would be appropriate and appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance.

Sincerely,

Aaron Miller
Administrative Assistant to the Select Board
Town of Whitefield
cc: Service List

“Damaged and reparable.” Nice they got that bit in there.

The Selectmen voted to send a letter last week at their regularly scheduled Select Board meeting. That meeting was covered by the Lincoln County News (see: Whitefield Selectmen to write State officials about Clary Lake). I greatly appreciate the Whitefield Selectmen taking this assertive step.

Here’s a link to the actual document:

8-18-2014 Town of Whitefield letter to AAG

18 August 2014: Clary Lake Association requests change to Service List

Almost from the beginning of the Clary Lake Water Level Petition, attorney and Clary Lake shore owner Robert Rubin has served as counsel for the Association in their role as intervenor in the petition proceedings. His advice and assistance over the past two and a half years on behalf of the Association as well as to me personally in my role as Petition Spokesperson has been invaluable and was instrumental in bringing the Clary Lake water level petition to a successful conclusion. I consider him a good friend and we all owe him a debt of gratitude for his selfless service to the Association and for his commitment to the preservation of Clary Lake.

Well, Bob has been making plans to retire for some time now, and he has finally gone and done it: he is no longer practicing law. His wife, Cheryl Ayer, a practicing attorney and recently elected Clary Lake Association Board member, has agreed to take over the role of counsel for the Association as intervenor in the Clary Lake water level petition proceedings. To that end, I have sent a letter to the Department requesting they update their Service List to reflect this change in representation.

While the petition process is behind us (thank goodness), the Service List itself has not been dismantled and is still available for information distribution to certain State agencies and other interested parties, of which there are quite a few. Departmental procedural orders regarding the Clary Lake water level order will be sent to the Service List. This update also serves to remind the Department that the Clary Lake Association is still here, waiting, and watching.

16 August 2014: Algae bloom not getting any better

The algae bloom that appeared a few weeks ago (see 01 August 2014: Yet another algae bloom in progress) hasn’t gotten any worse, but it certainly hasn’t gotten any better either. Today’s secchi disk reading of 2.00 meters (6.56′) shows that the water transparency has only marginally improved from 2 weeks ago when it was 1.82 meters (5.97′). The green scum you’re seeing around the edges of the lake are the dead and decaying carcasses of the cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that are responsible for the bloom. I took the picture at left this morning. Not very appealing.

It remains to be seen whether lake transparency slowly begins to improve or deteriorates further. I suspect, given the time of year and the low water conditions that we’re likely to see the bloom get worse as fall approaches. Both the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program folks and the Department of Environmental Protection are aware of the situation though it certainly wouldn’t hurt for a few more people to contact the DEP’s Division of Environmental Assessment and let them know what is happening. Here’s a link to their web page with instructions on how to report an algal bloom:

How to report an algal bloom

13 August 2014 Lincoln County News: Whitefield Selectmen to write State Officials About Clary Lake

George Fergusson, left, of the Clary Lake Association and Tom Hayes, Whitefield’s assessors’ agent speak to the Whitefield Board of Selectmen Aug. 12. (Kathy Onorato photo)

At their regularly scheduled meeting last Tuesday night, Whitefield Selectmen voted to write a letter to State officials expressing concern over Paul Kelley’s obstinate refusal to implement the Clary Lake water level order, according to an article in this week’s Lincoln County News by Kathy Onorato. In a brief telephone interview on Wednesday, Kelley complained about not having been notified that his company, Pleasant Pond Mill LLC, was going to be discussed at the meeting. For the record, I was at that meeting and the name “Pleasant Pond Mill LLC” was not mentioned once that I can recall though Mr. Kelley’s name was used numerous times. Also for the record, the Selectmen’s agenda was published on the Town’s facebook page on Monday. Apparently Mr. Kelley is not following that page:

Whitefield Selectmen to write State Officials About Clary Lake

Continue reading →

08 August 2014: New Website Permalinks

Some of you might have noticed a change to the link structure in use on our website. The original “?page_id=266” and “?p=2243” links have been replaced with a human readable “post-name.” For the most part this will be transparent and not require any thought or action on your part. If you have links you’ve saved in your browser for favorite pages, they’ll still work, you’ll just be automagically redirected to the new link. For example, if you point your browser at:

https://clarylake.org/?page_id=266″

you’ll be redirected to:

https://clarylake.org/current-water-level-charts/

One of the reason for this change is to make the links more human-readable, the other is to take advantage of page caching which should help with site performance. I’ve done a fair amount of testing and I don’t think anything is broken but if you find something that isn’t working, please let me know. Thanks.

03 August 2014: Yet Another Successful Annual Association Meeting

We had a good meeting of the Clary Lake Association yesterday, reasonably well attended though I had expected a somewhat larger turnout given how much we promoted the meeting. I remain somewhat chagrined that so many Clary Lake shore owners either aren’t interested in joining the Association or just can’t be bothered. I’m also surprised that some folks actually show up for the meetings, but are still unwilling to join! What’s up with that? The Clary Lake Association is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and enhancing the natural beauty, and quality of Clary Lake and its watershed. Everyone who owns land on Clary Lake should be a member, without exception.

The membership unanimously voted to adopt the Proposed Revised Bylaws. After the work the Bylaws committee put in on them over the past year, it would have been disheartening to say the least if they had been rejected! Furthermore, we got some good feed back from the membership to guide the Bylaws committee in revising the Membership and Voting Rights language to be voted on at next year’s meeting. I’ll finalize the newly adopted bylaws and post them on the website as soon as I get a round tuit. Continue reading →

02 August 2014: Clary Lake Association Annual Meeting Today!

The Clary Lake Association Annual meeting is today and it has NOT been called on account of rain! Several people have called this morning to ask if we were going with our rain date, and I must admit that a few hours ago it looked bleak, but it is definitely clearing. Hope to see you there!

01 August 2014: Yet another algae bloom in progress

Jack Holland and I performed out bi-monthly water quality monitoring boat trip this morning and obtained a secchi disk reading of 1.80 meters (5.9′) indicative of an algae bloom in progress. This does not come as a huge surprise since we’ve entered a bloom state about this time of year for the past 4+ years. Still, it was an unpleasant discovery. I’ve posted today’s data on the Clary Lake Water Monitoring Data page. Scott Williams of the Volunteer Lake Monitor Program has been notified of the bloom.

anabena03 Algae blooms are caused by the out-of-control growth of blue-green algae known as cyanobacteria. The most common cyanobacteria is Anabena, shown at left. Algae feeds primarily on phosphorus washed into the lake by runoff and released from bottom sediments in low-oxygen conditions. Undoubtedly the 7.65″ of rain and the resulting runoff we received in July contributed to this bloom, but the lower water levels resulting in reduced lake volume and sediments exposed to wave action and erosion certainly didn’t help any. Here are some pictures of what we can look forward to in about 2 weeks: