Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1909-02-02
To Make Another Maine Lake.
PORTION OF THE AAeALLowAY VAL
LEY MAY BE THUS CONVERTED.

PORTION OF THE AAeALLowAY VAL
LEY MAY BE THUS CONVERTED.
A bill introduced In the legislature
last week by Senator Osgood of Andres.
coggin may result In adding another to
the lakes at the head waters of the An
droscoggin River. The bill incorpo.
rates the Androscoggin Reservoir Com.
pany, the incorporators being William
P. Frye, Hugh j. Chisholm, Francis w.
Fabyan, Herbert j. Brown, Waldo Pet
tengill, A. N. Burbank and Wallace H..
White.
The object of the bill is to obtain
authority to build dam on the Magal-
loway River above Aziscoos Falls, for
the storage of water, converting por-
ton of the Maga'loway valley into a lake
about twelve miles long and mile wide
on the average. A statement accom-
panying the bill gives facts relative to
this large and important project, and is
as follows:
The water shed of the head waters of
the Androscoggin River may be con-
veniently divided into two parts. About
two-thrds of this water shed drains into
four great lakes, three of which are
wholly in Maine and one. Umbagog,
partly in Maine and partly in New
Hampshire. The Androscoggin River
has it's source in Umbagog Lake.
The surplusof freshet waters of these
great lakes is fairly we'll controlled by q
series of dams owned by the Union Wa
ter Power Co. at the outlets of the three
lakes in Maine and by dam on the An
droscoggin River at Enrol, New Hamp-
shire, a short distance from Umbagog
Lake and which holds the waters of the
river and flows them back into Umbagog
Lake.
The remainder of the water shed, be-
ing about .one-third of the whole water
shed of the head waters of the Andres
coggin River, drains into the Magallo-
way River. The Magalloway River
empties in the Androscoggin River
above the dam at Enrol but only small
part of the surplus or freshet waters of
the Magalloway River can be retained by
the dam at Enrol, because Umbagog
Lake has a very limited capacity as a
storage basin and that lake can be read
lily filled from its own water shed and
from the overflow from the great lakes
in Maine above it. Consequently, most
of the freshet waters coming down the
Magalloway River are discharged through
the dam at Enrol, New Hampshire, and
are thus wasted.
The object of this bill is to provide
means for holding and storing this sur
plus of freshet waters from the Magallo-
way River at some point above where
the Magalloway River empties into the
Androscoggin River.
A careful study of the water shed of
the Magalloway River has been made
during the past four or FIVE years by
competent hydraulic engineers, and
place has been found on this river where
dam can be erected and storage basin
created capable OF holding about eight
billion cubic feet of water; or, in other
words, about one-half the quantity re-
tanned by the dams of the Union Water
Power Company at the outlets of the
four lakes referred to.
The water shed of the Magalloway
River above the point where it is pro-
posed to build the new dam contains
about $50 square miles, and Is entirely
covered with forest.
At the site of the proposed dam, the
river comes through narrow gorge be-
tween the mountains, and behring's made
in the bed of the river show solid ledge
bottom. The plan contemplates an
earth dam As feet high with a concrete
core. The expense of building dam at
this point is very considerably increased
by reason of the fact that the nearest
railroad point on the Grand Trunk is
about fifty miles and on the Maine Cen
trail about thirty miles, but it is estimat-
ed that the improvement can be made
for about $4,000
Above the proposed dam the river
valley broadens out, varying in width
from ons-half of mile to two miles and
extends up the river some twelve or
fifteen miles. The bottom of this valley
is mostly swampy, marshy land. sparse
" covered with growth of small trees.
The new lake will practically cover this
valley, and when filled with water would
make a lake about twelve miles long and
of an average width of about mile.
On both sides of this valley the land
rises abruptly.
There are no cultivated lands in this
valley, and all the lands required for the
dam and for the lake are owned by
very few parties.
There is, and for many years has been,
a low wooden dam at the site of the pro-
posed dam owned by the Magalloway
Dam & Improvement company log
driving corporation. This dam flows
about two-thirds of the area which
which would be covered by the proposed
lake.
The engineers having charge OF the
project of building a storage dam at this
point have for several years made meas
urements of the quantity of water dis
charged at the site of the proposed dam,
and also mt Enrol Dam on the Andres
coegin River, and they estimate that a
lake of the capacity proposed can be
filled probably nine years out OF every
ten from the waters which are now
wasted through Enrol Dam from the wa
ter shed above the site of the proposed
dam.
The corporations directly interested in
making this improvement are the Union
Water Power Company, the Berlin Mills
Company the International Paper Com
pany and the Rumford Falls Power
Company.
1t is purely storage proposition, q
conservation of the water which Is now
wasted; and with the water now stored
by the dams of the Union Water Power
Company, will furnish the Androscoggin
River with an additional amount OF water
which will enable every mill at Lewiston
to run to its full capacity every day in
the year through any drouth as severe
as ever experienced on this river, and in
addition, will increase the total constant
power at Lewiston about rs per cent,
or in other words will add about 1000
horse power to the present available
water power at Lewiston. Every other
water power privilege on the river will
be correspondingly benefited.
The Poe Centennial.