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BY COLIN HICKEY
Staff Writer 07/23/2008

enlarge Staff photo by Jim Evans

DRAWN DOWN: Robert Estes, with the help of his son, Nick, heads towards the new bank of the Sebasticook River Sunday to continue monitoring the effects of the removal of the Halifax Dam. An underground shift from the breaching prompted police late Friday evening to evacuate a family from a home on Dallaire Street. No one was hurt.

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Map of Fort Halifax Dam area in Winslow, Sebasticook River.

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Spokesman F. Allen Wiley said FPL Energy is putting the controlled draining of the impoundment on hold until the water level recedes from recent heavy rains.

"Once the water gets back to a controllable state, it will start passing through the breached section again," Wiley said.

FPL Energy breached the century-old hydroelectric facility Thursday morning.

But the energy company stopped the flow through the breach early Saturday morning after a geotechnical engineering firm -- Sebago Technics -- detected a significant shift in the soil of the steep bank that Dallaire Street sits atop about nine hours earlier.

Police also had to evacuate a Dallaire Street family that was home after the shift was detected.

Wiley said FPL Energy is confident that steps taken since the shift have stabilized the situation at Dallaire Street.

"There are no issues that rise to the elevation of concern in the eyes of those from Sebago Technics," he said. "The message they gave to Dallaire Street folks last night is that all of the signs they see are positive signs."

Still, Wiley said FPL Energy remains committed to providing the seven Dallaire Street households who live on the slope with $250 a day to reside elsewhere until Sebago Technics says such a precaution is no longer necessary.

Winslow Town Council Chairman Gerald Saint Amand said he is pleased with safety measures FPL Energy has instituted.

"They are going above and beyond," he said. "They are going slow (with the drawdown) and they are being considerate to the residents. I'm trying to think of anything else we can ask of them."

Planning Board member W. Elery Keene on Monday criticized FPL Energy for not providing round-the-clock monitoring of the Dallaire Street bank -- a condition the planning board placed on the energy company before approving its dam-removal application.

But Keene said Tuesday he is pleased that FPL Energy now has established a system that provides continuous monitoring of slope conditions.

He said a Winslow police officer has access to a computer screen that can alert him to any significant changes.

Keene said the officer has instructions to notify Sebago Technics immediately if such changes occur.

"I think that is a much better system," Keene said. "I think it is more in line with what I understood as a Planning Board member that they were committed to doing when we approved their application."

Colin Hickey -- 861-9205

chickey@centralmaine.com

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