For thousands of years, our Stroudwater River supported annual sea fish runs. Sadly, the ecology of the river was destroyed by a dam in the 1840s. This dam has since blocked the passage of fish such as alewives and possibly rainbow smelt, shad, blueback herring and others. All of Maine’s rivers are publicly owned!

We have seen great improvements with the restoration of parts of the Presumpscot and the Kennebec rivers, and we should also restore the Stroudwater River.

The city has decided to spend $155,000 to repair the dam, although restoring the ecology of the river will require its removal.

The Stroudwater River dam removal study will include river flooding, habitat restoration, impacts on river stage and flow and potential impacts on existing infrastructure.

Andy Ford
Portland