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.