Report to the
From the West Branch Study Committee
February 22, 2006
This report is in response to a letter dated February 8, 2006, requesting the selectmen to suspend activities of the West Branch Study Committee (the Committee). After some discussion, the selectmen postponed additional discussion until their next meeting on February 22, and asked the Committee to respond at that time.
The February 8 letter raised some very important questions about restoring tidal flow to the West Branch. All of these issues, every point, and more, must be fully addressed, and will be fully addressed, before anything is done. The towns, the Department of Transportation (DOT), and any agency that could be involved through offering funding or in any other way, will demand no less. The Committee is attempting to learn about all the issues or problems that could possibly result from restoring tidal flow to the West Branch. That is the job of the Committee, and that is why it is important for the Committee to continue its work.
The Committee is a two-town committee, serving under the authority of both Addison and Columbia Selectmen.
The Committee is looking into options for replacing the existing dam and bridge
structure, which is nearing the end of its life cycle. The Maine Department of
Transportation (DOT) owns and maintains this structure. The state is under no
legal obligation to perpetually maintain and replace a dam at this location.
When the time comes to replace the structure, DOT will not automatically replace
the structure as is, but instead will, in all likelihood, consider tidal
restoration as part of the project. The failure of a dam at
A central task of the Committee is to study possibilities (including negative outcomes) for restoring tidal flow to the West Branch. If nothing else, the Committee is preparing for the eventual replacement of the dam and tide gates by DOT. By gathering as much information as possible, and looking into all potential problems, the Committee seeks to enable the towns to make informed decisions in the future, about the West Branch. Decision-makers need to know potential costs and benefits as well as risks, and to compare those with the current system of total tidal restriction. Few communities have the resources to facilitate this level of involvement in decision making. Engineering work is often done without towns having any input, even when that work has ramifications for
livelihoods and impacts on the local ecosystem. Addison and
One of the many important issues that have been raised is whether allowing tides
back into the West Branch might have a negative impact on well water in the
area. Therefore, the Committee applied for and received a grant to investigate
this issue. This work will take place during 2006. In 2005 the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) provided the town with detailed
topographical maps of the West Branch area, and in response to requests for
additional layers of information on the maps, is producing a second generation
of the maps which will be available within the next few months. The maps will be
useful to landowners and the town for a variety of purposes, independent of any
tidal restoration. The Committee has applied for another small grant which, if
awarded, will be used to generate informational material about local salt
marshes, both
The Committee is aware and respectful of private property rights, and has no intention of violating such rights.
The Committee is not pursuing just one possible option regarding replacement of
the current structure. Instead, the Committee realizes there must be multiple
options, such as diking the unnamed brook at the first abador, which regularly
floods at
Restoring tidal flow in the West Branch is not only about acreage of potential
salt marsh restoration. Re-opening the channel, now completely closed by a dam
with tide gates, would re-connect this major tributary to the
There may be options that will not changc how Wcst Branch landowners may use their property. Likewise, current status of the land may or may not change. The Committee is aware that Shoreland Zoning questions are very important and need to be investigated carfeflully. At the present time, there is no evidence that Shoreland Zoning status would change, and there is even a possibility that under new DEP rules upland bordering salt marshes will, in the future, be less restricted than upland bordering freshwater wetlands.
The Committee does not propose to cause flooding, and instead proposes to
prevent flooding. Flooding now occurs after heavy rainfall, on the road to
could be re-designed as part of any future tidal restoration project. Although the word “flood” certainly is used in connection with tides, such as ebb tide and flood tide, “flood” has additional meanings of disaster and catastrophe, not appropriate to describe natural tidal flow. Restoring tidal flow wpuld only re-introduce salt water into a portion of wetlands that had always been salt marshes but have become fresh water wetlands because of the dam.
The Committee communicates with all West Branch landowners, through regular
mailings that explain all activities of the Committee, with meeting minutes
enclosed. Records of minutes, letters, grant applications, and more, are kept
for public review at the town office. The Committee meets on a regular,
advertised basis, the second Thursday of every month at the
The Committee exists to fmd answers to all questions raised. We currently have funding to study the wells and septic issues. The next major study we hope to complete will be hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, which should answer the questions about how much acreage is involved under various possible circumstances. This is a very expensive study, but grant money has been forthcoming so far.
We intend to address all questions, and if there are any others to be answered, we reaffirm that the purpose of the committee is to study all aspects, pro and con. We welcome all communication and participation by West Branch landowners and other interested persons.