To my knowledge there has been no action from the Camden Select Board on the offer of the Save The Dam Committee to donate over $10,000 toward making necessary repairs to the Montgomery Dam. These are repairs to fix the sluice gate, level the rim and damaged lip of the dam, and remove unwanted vegetation that is clogging and despoiling the areas around the waterfall and dam.
The offer by the Save the Dam Committee seems reasonable to me, especially with the busy tourist season approaching, and it would cost the town nothing.
There has been a dam in the same location for 250 years since the founding of the town (the Minot dam). The current dam, reflecting pond and waterfall were designed by the highly respected Olmstead Brothers, who also designed features for Central Park in New York City, Boston and other locations.
The Megunticook River is unique in Maine in that it does not drain directly into the ocean, but falls over bedrock about 20 feet before reaching the harbor waters. There is No historical record of any sea-run fish (other than tiny elvers) migrating up the river to spawn, and the gradient from the harbor to the river is too steep and short for a fish ladder to work.
Time is running short until the summer season, so repairs to return the dam and falls to their intended beauty (in appearance and sound) should be at the top of the Select Board’s agenda. I would urge others to encourage the town manager and the board to act.
