Property owners along Clary Lake in Lincoln County are applauding a Superior Court decision upholding a Maine Department of Environmental Protection order setting water levels on the lake.
In recent years the level has dropped by more than four feet after a breach in a nearby dam was not repaired. AquaFortis, which owns property associated with the dam, appealed the DEP order and took the matter to court. The lower water levels has left docks stranded well above the lake, weeds have choked out swimming holes and George Ferguson, secretary of the Clary Lake Association, says water quality has been degraded. He says he'd like to see the lake level restored to where it had been for a hundred years.
"That's when the dam was built back in 1903 and historically the lake level has been maintained at or close to the top of the dam, and we'd like to see that again and have our usable lake back and i believe we will see that."
AquaFortis has until Monday to appeal the Superior Court decision to Maine's high court. Without an appeal, Maine DEP can initiate an enforcement action. After waiting four years, Ferguson says he's hoping for a satisfactory conclusion to the dispute.
