Curtis Pond Association

We built a new dam!! Construction went really well and was completed last fall!

It took a 30-year community effort to reconstruction the dam.  Here’s an 8-page document summarizes the major steps and the people it took to get the dam reconstructed.  

It Takes a CommunityDownload

We’re still raising funds to pay off a $200,000 loan the CPA took to complete the project.

Click here to support this important project.

Watch construction happen life! https://cobyheise.com/ice/

This photo of the dam is from 10/18/22. Notice how the top left part of the dam is overhanging the dam’s foundation. The dam shifts annually, and this photo captures just how critical it is that we complete the project before it’s too late!

Here’s the dam construction site. To the right you can see the giant coffer dam they built out of 550, one-ton sandbags with wooden “swamp mats” on top to allow the excavator to drive across it. You can see to the left of the dam that the upstream stone wall we thought we’d find, doesn’t exist. We’ll need to build a cement “waste block” wall to pour the new dam concrete against.

“Without the dam there is no Curtis Pond”. This realization caused the Curtis Pond Association (CPA) to organize the Curtis Pond Dam Exploratory Group in 2019 to work towards getting the Curtis Pond Dam repaired. It became clear, this project needed municipal involvement to succeed. Since then, the voters of Calais voted to approve a bond for $450k, the Calais Selectboard earmarked $100k in ARPA funds to the project, and the CPA has raised $450k in private donations. In the spring of 2024, the Calais Selectboard signed a contract with Hebert Construction to build the new dam

The project cost came in at about $1.2M, just outside of our funds. The CPA Executive Board took out a private loan from local residents for the final $200k needed for the project. We are launching a sustaining member style pledge drive to ensure we can repay this loan over the next three years.

Check out our fundraising page for more details and to make a donation.

Press:

Friend of the dam and videographer Art Bell’s made this promotional video for the project:
https://youtu.be/0waJ5fqZOcs?si=mCBVExq1PU9hG8CM

Save Our Dam – by Geoff Hewit:

Times Argus: 8/19/24 – https://www.timesargus.com/news/local/contract-coming-soon-for-curtis-pond-dam-repair/article_94ca439c-e18c-538c-b05c-9e1fdc398a76.html

The Montpelier Bridge: 7/10/24 – https://montpelierbridge.org/2024/07/saving-maple-corners-curtis-pond-for-generations-to-come-vermonts-most-endangered-dam-to-be-rebuilt/

WCAX: 7/21/23 – https://www.wcax.com/2023/07/21/curtis-pond-dam-plans-washed-away-recent-flooding/

7 Days: 8/3/22 – https://www.sevendaysvt.com/arts-culture/a-close-knit-village-works-to-save-its-beloved-curtis-pond-36158208

Other History of the project (note: some info outdated now)

As early as 2001, the State has declared that “the overall condition of the dam is poor and requires repairs” and is not likely to issue a permit to rebuild a dam if it fails. The current estimate for the dam renovation is about $700,000. A  modern concrete dam will be built just upstream of the dam and tied into the existing dam which will remain in place,  preserving the historic beauty of the dam. 

Funding the project: The CPA is committed to raising $250,000 or more from grants and donations. Of this, we have raised $215,000 from more than 300 individual contributors and are confident we will raise the remainder by March of this year. The Calais Select Board has voted to approve $100,000 in ARPA (state) funding towards construction costs pending successful passage of the Calais Bond Vote. The CPA gathered 200 signatures on their petition (13.6% of Calais Voters, 53 signatures more than needed) to place Article 20, a bond of up to $450,000, on the March 7th Calais Ballot. Due to the ARPA funds, we expect the actual bond needed to be closer to $350,000, or half the cost of the project. If the bond passes, there is a good chance we can complete this project in the summer of 2023! VOTE YES ON ARTICLE 20: Let’s work together to get the Curtis Pond Dam fixed!

The Curtis Pond Association was formed during the summer of 2017 when community members came together to brainstorm how to ensure Curtis Pond remained a wonderful resource for generations to come.

The objectives of the Curtis Pond Association are to promote discussion and serve as an educational forum in order to preserve and enhance for future generations the environment and natural beauty of Curtis Pond; promote use of best scientific practices in and around the Pond; protect the Pond’s wildlife, shoreline, watershed, and ecologically related environs; and promote the enjoyment of the lake by owners of property adjacent to and nearby Curtis Pond, and by the public visiting Curtis Pond. 

Our largest project right now is repairing the Curtis Pond Dam. Here are the basics, please peruse the website for the details.

  • Curtis Pond Dam has been listed by state dam engineers as a “Significant Hazard” for over 18 years.
  • Curtis Pond Dam “overtopped” during Hurricane Irene in 2011.  Experts agree one more similar overtopping event could cause complete dam failure.
  • If the Curtis Pond Dam fails, Curtis Pond would be reduced to two small ponds surrounded by mudflats and wetlands.
  • In the case of catastrophic dam failure, the state is “highly unlikely” to ever issue a permit to rebuild the dam, and Curtis Pond would be lost FOREVER.
  • It is conservatively estimated that loss of the pond would result in over $3 million in lost property taxes over 20 years. These funds would have to be raised by raising everyone else’s taxes.
  • Even if the Calais Taxpayers picked up the entire bill for fixing the Curtis Pond Dam (nobody is suggesting they do) – it would raise taxes less than losing the pond would.
  • The Curtis Pond Associations Dam Exploratory Committee has a signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Calais Selectboard, outlining both organizations shared commitment to seeing this project through.

Please look around the site where you’ll find lots of historic documents related to previous efforts to rebuild the dam, as well as lots more details and media about current efforts.  Please contact us if you have any questions or want to support our efforts.

The Curtis Pond Dam Committee has been working since 2020 on a plan to repair the Curtis Pond Dam, which has been classified by the state as a “Significant Hazard” for 18 years!  A recent report released by the Vermont State Auditor’s office Digs deep into the importance of fixing hazardous dams before it’s too late.  During Hurricane Irene, the Curtis Pond Dam overtopped.  The Dam Exploratory committee has been told that one more such event could lead to a dam failure, which in turn could mean losing Curtis Pond forever.  That’s why we’ve teamed up with the Calais Selectboard to develop a clear path forward to ensure Curtis Pond remains a local, community resource for generations to come.

The Curtis Pond Association Board of Directors include:

  • President – Colleen Bloom
  • Vice President – Jamie Moorby
  • Treasurer – Marge Sweeney
  • Secretary – Reenie DeGeus
  • At Large – Ginger Clammer
  • At Large – Marc Mihaly
  • At Large – Noreen Bryan

The CPA Dam Exploratory Group fluctuates in size and has a broad range of participants. The core organizing groups consists of:

  • Colleen Bloom
  • Jamie Moorby
  • Marge Sweeney
  • Marc Mihaly
  • John Rosenblum
  • Denise Wheeler (Select Board Liaison)
  • John Brabant (Select Board Liaison)