Engineers discovered the damaged sections during an inspection that resulted from lake property owners' complaints about low water levels.
NORWAY, Maine — After a wave of complaints about low water levels over the summer, engineers inspected the dam that connects Pennesseewassee Lake and the Pennesseewassee Stream to determine whether water was leaking and contributing to the decline.
The engineers found no significant water loss. Still, the unusually low water levels revealed a faulty spillway and other serious structural weaknesses that could lead to catastrophic dam failure during flood events.
Ironically, if the water levels had remained high, the damage might have gone undetected. The city government acted quickly to initiate repairs and reduce the risk of a dam failure before the spring runoff.
Over a three-week period in October, Bancroft Construction Corp. repaired. from South Paris leaked wooden boards, concrete beams and other structural elements of the dam built in 1935, with an initial cost of about $91,000.
The final costs must be billed to the city.
“The repairs will ensure the gates do not fail during flooding,” Interim City Manager Jeffery Campbell wrote in an email.
The bad news, however, is that the repairs are not expected to significantly improve current conditions for residents and recreational boaters on Lake Norway, which have experienced extremely low water levels throughout the summer.
“The city received a lot of calls from concerned citizens saying, 'Oh, we see the water is really low and we see the dam is leaking,'” said Sarah Carter-Hill, vice chair of the Norway Select Board.
She said engineers who inspected the dam concluded that leaks were not the cause of the lake's low water levels.
“There was always some water flowing through the dam, even when it was completely closed,” Campbell said. “The significant drop in lake levels was due to the extreme lack of rain last summer.”
The low water level allowed engineers to clearly identify the dam's faulty spillway and facilitated access and repair of potential failure points.
The repairs were completed in two phases: First, above-waterline visible boards were attached, followed by underwater dam house boards that were sealed using advanced techniques, according to minutes of the Oct. 16 special committee meeting.
Campbell said at least one of the dam boards was so damaged that it may not have been able to withstand flooding during the spring melt.
“This failure would have resulted in increased water flow over the dam, but the main concrete structure of the dam is in good condition and there was no risk of flooding or massive loss of water from the lake,” he said.
Carter-Hill said an increase in calls from concerned residents about low water levels prompted a thorough inspection of the dam and uncovered weaknesses, leading to the recent repairs.
The city was aware the dam needed repairs and had addressed the problems over the years, but Carter-Hill said she believes complaints sped up this particular project.
“It was already in the works and money was being invested,” she said, “because these were issues that we knew we had to fix anyway.”
Drought conditions and low water levels may have frustrated property owners around the lake, but Carter-Hill said they have created ideal conditions for repairs to be completed. Typically, such work requires construction crews to install a temporary cofferdam to hold back the water.
However, because the lake was already so low, little effort was needed to lower the water level further.
“It was the perfect time to make the repairs,” she said. “These repairs are something we’ve definitely talked about over the last few years.”
In his email, Campbell wrote that the city is also taking steps such as using bark mulch to reduce bark mulch spills during dry months.
Campbell said the lake's water level is regulated by an agreement between the Norwegian Lakes Association and the City of Norway.
Sal Girifalco, president of the Norwegian Maritime Association, said maintaining target water levels was a difficult balancing act.
“It is a very demanding task to maintain water levels,” Girifalco said. “If they guess wrong and there's too much water, some areas will flood. If they guess wrong and there's not enough and there's no rain, the lake stays low. So it's a real challenge to manage the lake level appropriately.”
“There are always questions about the function of the dam, low water levels in summer, etc. So it's an ongoing issue. My greatest wish is that it doesn't remain an ongoing issue.”
This story was originally published by The Maine Monitora nonprofit and nonpartisan news organization. For regular reports about the Monitor, subscribe to the free Monitor newsletter Here.
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