Projects > Tidal Restriction Removal Demonstration
OVERVIEW
After a public hearing on October 24, 2005, the Kittery
Town Council voted to conduct a flushing demonstration of Spruce Creek
(see the story in The
Portsmouth Herald). This demonstration consists of removing the
flashboards from the tidal restriction located at US Route 1 and allowing
the water to flow in both directions through the open dam in order to
improve water quality and restore a more productive and healthy habitat.
After a period of one year the tidal restriction working group will reconvene
to assess the changes observed and to make a recommendation to the Town
Council on future operation of the tidal gates.
UPDATES
- With the
cooperation of our volunteers, the Wells National Estuarine Research
Reserve, and the Kittery Trading Post Outdoor Academy, we look forward
to a summer full of monitoring projects on the creek. Please contact
us if you'd like to get involved - and get out on the creek for
a bit!
- The second
update meeting was held Wednesday, May 3rd
at 9:00am in the Kittery Town Hall (check
out the write-up from the Portsmouth
Herald). Please feel free to review the comments,
questions & answers. - and many thanks to all those who were
able to attend. Next meeting in August!
- The first
update meeting was held Wednesday, February
8th. Please feel free to review the presentation
and the comments, questions
& answers. And be sure to check out observations
noted by one of our member volunteers who lives in these upper reaches
of the creek.
- Check
out the great before
& after pictures taken by one of our member volunteers.
- Please
be sure to take a look at our Creek Watch
page for observations and sightings.
- The dive
team came on Sunday, November 6th, at mid-day
and successfully removed the bolts and flashboards. Check out the photos!
- While
the Spruce Creek Association has taken the lead in monitoring the creek
during this year-long demonstration, we encourage all residents - particularly
those of you who live on these upper portions of the creek - to participate
in the monitoring and discussions. If you'd like to be included
on the email list for this project to receive updates and observations,
please sign up for
the updates.
- We've held two of the three quarterly update meetings on February 8th and May 3. The 3rd update meeting is tentatively scheduled for Wednesday, August 2nd at 6pm (location TBD) and the final assessment meeting will be held in late October or early November. For those of you on our update list, we'll send reminder emails before the meetings. We encourage you to participate in these meetings to share your thoughts, observations and even photos, so that we can better understand any effects of the new tidal regime.
BACKGROUND & RESOURCES
Proposed
Tidal Restriction Removal Demonstration
The Town Council held public hearing to consider a one-year demonstration
to confirm the expected improvement in water quality and habitat from
increased tidal flow in the upper portions of Spruce Creek. The increased
tidal flow would be achieved by removing the existing flashboards at the
Route One tidal weir. The improvements will be confirmed through water
quality monitoring and abutter interviews.
Proposal
Please take some time to review
the Tidal Restriction Demonstration Proposal which includes a description
of the proposed project and its goals, monitoring methods and costs. The
more complete packet
(Caution: large file) includes letters of support and background
information (as available at the above links, as well).
Resources
- A history and timeline of the structure at Route 1 (please note there may be some inaccuracies in this document).
- The original Construction, Operation & Maintenance Agreement for the structure.
- Notes from the 10/15/2004 meeting
- Notes
from the 03/11/2005 meeting
As a result of our March 2005 meeting we had agreed to pursue establishing an operation plan for the tidal structure to specify procedures for operation, management and monitoring of the tidegate. (Please take some time to review this sample Operations & Maintenance Plan from the Town of Wells which was recently established for their self-regulation tidegate on Drakes Island.) - DOT
structural assessment and dive report (5/4/2005)
The Maine Department of Transportation has reported that the weir's structure appears able to function as designed (the flashboards seem to be able to be pulled out) and the structure is in good condition. - Notes from the 09/28/2005 working group meeting
- Baseline Tide Levels Near the Spruce Creek – Route 1 Crossing, Kittery, conducted by K2 Science LLC, October 2005
- Public Hearing, 10/24/2005: Town Council voted to conduct a flushing demonstration of Spruce Creek (see the story in The Portsmouth Herald)
- First quarterly update meeting held on 02/08/2006: Presentation and comments, questions & answers.
- Second quarterly update meeting held on 05/03/2006: Comments, questions & answers.
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