By Wayne E. Rivet

Staff Writer

Doug Oakley and his family live in what neighbors call an “iconic” home.

“It’s been there for over a hundred years, and our hope is to keep it there for another hundred years,” Oakley told the Bridgton Select Board Tuesday night.

The house is located in Ingall’s Grove (now Sanborn’s Grove Road) “literally on and over,” surrounded on three sides, by Highland Lake. The house was built over the lake in the early 1900s and has been in Oakley’s family since 1968 (four generations).

Oakley was before the board to seek adjustments to the town’s Lake Level Policy after a recent storm nearly poured water into his home.

“This extreme flood came within two inches of the lake actually coming in the side entrance door to our house at lake level, only 40 sand bags prevented the entire first level of our permanent year-round primary residence from being flooded,” he wrote in a letter to town officials. “Water was leaking in through a corner cold concrete joint onto the floor at a rate of five gallons per hour requiring us to run a shop wet-vac continuously for six straight days and empty the water every 30 minutes to protect of first floor from flooding, making sleeping nearly impossible for the duration of the flood.”

Oakley’s letter added that he observed submerged docks and pieces of wood, branches, and an entire floating dock freely moving around the lake.

“With the extreme lake level and high winds after the storm, water was continuously eroding the shoreline everywhere and well above and beyond the impact of an entire season of wake-surf boats,” he noted.  

Oakley said he measured the lake level to be approximately 18 inches above normal levels and 6 inches over the North and South patios of his house.

“The 0.6 feet (7.2 inch) difference in lake level from April 18 to May 1 had the dam remained open would have prevented most, if not all, the impact to our property from this storm,” he wrote. “The extreme extent of the Highland Lake flooding at the beginning of May 2023 could have been prevented...The impact and damage to property, shoreland, and the local ecology resulting from this flood was wide spread and we have included examples of how it personally impacted us separately below. We believe it is the Town’s responsibility to assure “that our citizens and their property are protected.”

Oakley pointed out to the Select Board, “The only reason those sandbags worked was because it was very limited boat traffic. If there were more boats on the lake at that time of the year, the boat waves would’ve come over the sandbags and gone against that entry door... With my 50 years of experience at that house that we’ve had many occasions where it’s risen. This one was probably close to the highest I’ve seen it. But the house is extremely vulnerable to these occasions. And in this particular case, you know, the town records clearly show that the dam was closed two weeks prior to the flood event and was closed early. I don’t know why it was closed so early.”

Bill and Jean Preis also own property on Highland Lake. Preis also wrote a letter to the Select Board and included photos of spring flooding at the beach area, including one with a duck swimming in an area usually green space near the boat launch ramp.

While Preis feels Public Services Director David Madsen has, for the most part, adhered to the level policy (5.4 feet in the winter and 6.2 feet in the summer), Preis requested that town policy for Highland Lake level “should be modified to allow and encourage Public Works to closely follow the guidelines, and lower the lake level, when heavy rains are forecasted.”

“Unfortunately, this spring we experienced heavy rain, and the lake level rose well over 7 feet (to as much as 7.9 feet according to the town’s website). The water reached over the Town Beach Park, almost to the roadway. It also caused severe erosion along many parts of the lakeshore, damaging the vulnerable shoreline and destabilizing trees close to the water. In some locations, personal property and residences were at serious risk when the lake was excessively high. Weather forecasts predicted those heavy rains, but no preemptive action was taken by the Town to lower the lake,” Preis wrote. “There have been at least 13 occasions over the 36 years that we have lived here, on Highland Lake, when the water level reached flood stage—starting in 1989. In all those 36 years, there never was a time that the water level got too low. If, by chance, the Lake level did get below the desired range, the very consistent Maine rains would fill it up again. But Public Works seems to favor the higher range of the established lake levels. When you start with a level that is already at the high range and you have a significant rain storm, you are quickly at flood stage.”  

Preis said the last flood in early May was the latest example of “ignoring the long range 7-10 day weather forecasts.”

“The water level was already too high and was exasperated by a deluge that was forecasted, but ignored,” he wrote.   

Both Oakley and Preis encouraged the Public Service Director, who is in charge of managing lake levels, “proactively respond to weather forecasts and seasonal conditions. 7 to 10-day weather forecasts are readily available online, on smartphone apps, or even local TV weather. Attention to these forecasts allows for a proactive response to rain events and hopefully reduce the risk of flooding and prevent extreme flooding.”

Board Chair Carmen Lone noted this has been an “unusual” year in regards to rainfall, and “there’s a lot of aspects to lowering the lake level or allowing it to get higher, which involves some many elements that are not in our control — starting from Sappi in Westbrook and moving right up the food chain to Highland Lake. Not to mention El Nino and Mother Nature.”

“So, I think to my feeling is to re-look at this policy at this time in an unusual year, is an exercise of futility,” Lone said. “It’s unfair to say that any action caused by our Public Works Department can control the water level. My point is that we do things in conjunction with other towns down the water.”

Town Manager Robert Peabody reminded the board that local officials met with state reps this spring and recently reviewed the level policy. “We brought ourselves in a lockstep with them,” Peabody said.

Leading that Oakley would not “be happy with my remark,” Selectman Bob McHatton pointed out there are many reasons town standards require homes to be 110 feet back from the shoreline.

“Over a hundred years, your house has been there. You’ve been very lucky because people today can’t build a house that close and the rest of the people are on the lake are very happy because people can’t build a house that close around the lake,” McHatton said.

Lone added, “I think everyone recognizes that they are targets and that they are not something that you control with an on off switch. I think the question that’s being asked by at least a few individuals on Highland Lake is whether we would be better off setting the target slightly lower, and that may have the potential to make all the difference in the world to protecting existing structures.”

Peabody cautioned the board regarding possible changes in water level “targets.”

“You can’t just look at two properties and make, make your decisions or five properties or even 10, whatever you do affects somebody else’s property as well. I would suggest, based on the number of concerns that have been raised to us in these storms, which is only two, that others around the lake don’t seem to have the same issues,” Peabody said. “Maybe it’s because their houses are sited and as we now prefer them sited or what is best for the lake, which is further back. But, you know, if there’s one thing you can’t legislate, it’s Mother Nature. If you look at what’s happened to houses all across the country, I think you’re seeing how that works. I just would be cautious because what might be good for one might not be good for the others. I think what we’ve tried to do, in all fairness, is strike that balance and also bring ourselves into accord with the state down at the Locks. I’m just throwing that out as consideration.”

The Select Board declined to review the policy.