I have been eagerly following the ongoing saga of the proposed Royal River dam removal. If there is any hope of restoring anadromous fish runs, removal is the primary goal. Restoration of historic runs would be beneficial to the river and to Casco Bay in general. The latest Town Council workshop points out some backward thinking.
A number of folks have been concerned that removal would dump a heavy load of silt in the harbor. Most of the analysis says that is not the case, but if it were then dam removal should be the priority. Dredge after and that issue goes away.
I also noted that the Town Council said that they would not spend any town funds on the removal. While all this discussion has been going on for the last year plus, has anyone at the town government level looked into the federal funding for dam removal being awarded by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration? This has been a NOAA priority for a few years.
It certainly seems that this project has been approached by putting the cart before the horse. Oh, and if the dam happens to fail, it is likely that the town will have to foot the bill.
C.M. Cunningham Jr.
Yarmouth
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