Concerns over dam spur draining of pond

BOWDOIN – State crews were draining water from a pond on Thursday because of concerns that the pond’s dam could breach because of rising water levels.

Charlie Jacobs, acting director of Maine Emergency Management Agency, said the dam on Stoddard Pond was determined to be a “significant hazard” when it was inspected in September as part of his agency’s dam safety program.

When the dam owners didn’t comply with a request to lower the water in the pond to reduce the dangers, an inspector returned for another inspection ahead of this weekend’s anticipated heavy rains.

Following the inspection, crews arrived Wednesday night and began draining water from the 16-acre pond through pipes across Pond Road and into a stream. Jacobs said the water will be drained as far down as necessary so the dam no longer poses a threat.

The pond, he said, was built in the 1960s and is roughly 20 to 25 feet deep.