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State Pays to Aid Woodbury Pond in Litchfield

July 28, 2009 - LITCHFIELD -- The public boat launch and the dam that controls the water levels on Woodbury Pond are both due for some spiffing up this year.

The projects are delighting members of the Tacoma Lakes Improvement Society, who use the interconnected waterways, according to the group's president, Buddy Potts.

The improvements to the state-owned launch facility are being funded by the state Department of Conservation and designed to limit soil erosion into the pond.

"We're very excited about it, especially keeping out the erosion," Potts said. The boat launch provides the only public access to the three major ponds in the Tacoma Lakes.

George Powell, director of the department's Boating Facilities Division, said the renovations at the boat launch facility will be done in late September or early October.

"The ramp itself is in bad shape," Powell said. About $100,000 is budgeted for the project, which will go out to bid.

The project includes redoing and repaving the parking area, improving the drainage and installing an area for a portable toilet.

Potts said the ramp is heavily used and the area hosts bass tournaments almost every weekend.

Last year, the state funded a similar improvement project at the Long Pond boat launch in Mount Vernon. That project began shortly after Labor Day.

Renovations also are scheduled this year at the public boat launch on Webber Pond in Vassalboro.

Back on Woodbury Pond, the concrete dam is being painted with sealant and will be surrounded by new fencing.

"We want to make sure the dam is protected," Potts said. "We don't want people down there, because it's dangerous with the gates being opened and closed to let the water out."

The Society once owned the dam, but the town of Litchfield took over shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks when private owners could no longer get dam insurance, Potts said.

However, the society reimburses Litchfield for any work done on the dam. Terry Averill serves as damkeeper, a busy job with the heavy rains this spring and summer.

"If he has to, he's there at 3 o'clock in the morning opening or closing the dam," Potts said. "It's strictly to regulate the level of the lakes.

"We're working hard trying to keep the dam in good condition," Potts said. "It's getting older."

Membership in the Tacoma Lakes Improvement Society is open to property owners along any of the five ponds in the Tacoma Lakes: Jimmy, Buker, Woodbury, Sand and Purgatory ponds.

Potts said about 80 percent of the property is in Litchfield and 20 percent in Monmouth.

The society has about 200 members and is spending $1,500 on dam improvements.

The society has a Web site at www.tacomalakes.org.

BY BETTY ADAMS
Staff Writer
Kennebec Journal
7/22/09


Lakes: Woodbury Pond
Regions: Belgrade


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