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Drawdown of Durham's Mill Pond To Allow Further Study of Dam
If you drive by the Mill Pond Dam in Durham off Route 108 you will see a
meandering stream where Mill Pond usually sits. The town of Durham has
opened the spill gate to draw down the impoundment so that further
inspection and coring samples of the dam's concrete can be obtained as part
of the limited feasibility study approved by the town earlier this year.
The drawdown will end later this month and the impoundment allowed to refill.
Data from the study is anticipated later this year or early next year when
hearings on the future of the dam and impoundment will continue. Hearings
held this spring revealed strong sentiment by abutters on the impoundment
to preserve it, but this was tempered by the environmental issues of the
pond's listing as an impaired water body by NH DES and significant reductions
in river herring numbers over the past several years despite the Denil fish
ladder operated by NH Fish & Game. The town is trying to get a more accurate
cost estimate for repairing the dam. Studies are also being done to map the
area to help predict the result of potential dam removal of this head-of-tide
dam with regard to tidal flow and the resulting river channel.
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