Quote:
Originally Posted by Steveo
Near the intersection of Routes 11 and 11-D in West Alton there is a set of culverts that run under Route 11 and Loon Cove Road. These culverts drain water from a back "swamp" area into Love Cove on Winnipesaukee. For several years now there has been a beaver dam on the west side of the Route 11 culvert. Yesterday the highway department decided it was time to take out the beaver dam. So the geniuses decided to rip it out all at once. Well there was a huge volume of water behind it in the swamp. It caused a huge torrent of water to flow into the lake. In that water was logs, branches, debris, mud, dirt, lots of nutrients from horse farm and leaves. It was devastating to watch all of that crap flowing several hundreds of yards into the lake. What was once a beautiful sandy area for swimming (both for land owners and anchorers) is now covered in a thick layer of mud/dirt as far as the eye can see.
I was devastated, as I am one of the land owners so I went down to town hall. They told be to talk to highway dept. Yeah the same guys that laughed when I came up to them while they were doing it - no thanks. So I called Concord - DES. They said definitely there was a better way to do it but it was legal for them to do. I said that if a land owner did the same thing they would be quartered and strung up. He did say that he was coming to the area today and would take a look at it. All that will come out of that is a strong warning to Highway Dept to not do that again.
I doubt there is anything I (we) can do but vent, so thank you all for that. Unless anyone out there (shore things?) has a better idea. I would love to get them to clean it up (dredging?) but that would never happen. I just known that a couple of years from now the whole area will be filled with grasses and weeds. AND IT DIDN'T HAVE TO HAPPEN!!!!!
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A brief filing period for bills for the upcoming legislative session started yesterday, ends 3:00 pm, Friday, December 2nd. If you think legislation to have DOT do such work only after consulting with the local conservation commission or DES, you should contact your state rep right away. If you're from Alton, that's Rep. Valerie Fraser at 744-0107. NH Lakes Assoc. is often interested in this type of issue.
www.NHLAKES.org
Chairman of the House Resources Committee is Rep. Chris Christensen, 424-2542.