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Town vote may end dam controversy

"Any time you take a dam down people get upset, but here we have this beautiful area that's now a town park. It would be a great spot, a purpose-built swimming area rather than just a hole behind a dam."

BRISTOL (NEWS CENTER Maine)-- People in Bristol will go to the polls next week, hoping to end a local controversy.

The issue is the fate of the hundred-year-old dam on the Pemaquid River in Bristol Mills. Its been the village swimming spot for generations and is also where the fire department fills its trucks. But the river is also important for alewives, and town leaders want to improve fish passage upstream.

Residents will vote on two plans --one would tear out the dam and build a new swimming and fire truck area a few hundred yards upriver. The other would keep the swimming hole and build a new and better fish ladder around the old dam.

The prime concern driving the discussion over the past two years was increasing the number of alewives swimming upriver and into the series of ponds and lakes that make up the Pemaquid watershed. Alewives are considered an important food source for other species of animals and birds and are also used for lobster bait.

Phil Averill, a marine biologist in Bristol who served on the town’s dam study committee, said they believe the current, limited run of the fish can be increased with easier passage upriver. “We should be able to put up a million fish in the springtime when the alewives run,” he said, adding that current fish runs are ranging from around 15,000 to 100,000 fish.

Averill said a relocated swimming area could be better than what exists now, and that the fire department needs can also be met at the town park a short distance upstream.

Bristol Fire Chief Paul Leeman, however, says the relocation site would be worse for fire trucks, and other dam supporters claim it would be less desirable for swimming as well. But they also admit to a strong attachment to the old swimming hole.

“I swam there as a kid,” said resident Lynn Prentice.

Bristol Dam

“One letter to the editor I wrote, I asked did you ever swim here? If you did you’d understand.”

Fire Chief Leeman said the old dam and swimming hole are a perfect spot for the fire department’s water needs, but also said he thinks keeping the dam and building a better fish passage would be the best for everyone.

“You know, we think we can accommodate fish with the alewife run, swimming hole and fire suppression and just do it thru improvements to the dam.”

Averill said either plan should improve fish passage, although he said removing the dam would be better. He also suggested it would ultimately be better for the town.

“Any time you take a dam down people get upset, but here we have this beautiful area that’s now a town park. It would be a great spot, a purpose-built swimming area rather than just a hole behind a dam.”

Both sides agree the issue has become divisive. One advocate for removing the dam told NEWS CENTER Maine she had received threats.

The vote is scheduled for Tuesday.

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