During the infamous October 1996 storm, which ravaged the Gorham/Windham area with 18 inches of rain in a three-day period, the old Highland Lake Dam burst, flooding Mill Brook which runs through Westbrook.

Low-lying homes surrounding the lake, which borders Windham, Falmouth and Westbrook, were also flooded. One of those homeowners is Ralph Johnston, who remembers the 1996 storm well.

That year, Johnston said dam keepers couldn’t open the spillway enough to let all the storm water through. The dam essentially burst under the tremendous weight of the lake. The Army Corps of Engineers built a new dam, this time beefy enough to handle such storms.

At the height of Monday’s storm, Johnston said the dam was responding well to its first big test since being constructed in the late 1990s.

“The dam is doing great. The water level is up, but I’ve seen it higher. I’m just so tickled” with its performance, Johnston said.

Johnston said the new dam has a 111-foot spillway and has a passive system, meaning no one has to physically remove boards to open the spillway wider. Everything is automatic now.

Despite the dam’s performance, Johnston said there was much erosion around the lake. He and fellow lake resident Keith Williams took water samples from nine streams leading into the lake. They will send the samples to a doctorate student currently researching Highland Lake.

-John Balentine, staff writer