Rollo Pond, located in Abbott Park, was rebuilt
during the 1980s.
FARMINGTON – The water level at Rollo Pond was lowered Thursday and sediment removal began.
Water was sucked up through a large hose and disposed of in a brook on the other side of a makeshift dam.
The University of Maine at Farmington received permits from the state Department of Protection to remove sediment that’s built up from Beaver Brook since UMF alumni had the pond reconstructed in the 1980s, UMF Director of Facility Management Bob Lawrence said.
Carolyn Balsam of Industry set up a table and was making lunch for herself and a friend, Shirley Fishir of Farmington. It was the first time the two had sat on one of the benches along the shore of pond in Abbott Park on the campus. Balsam had brought along a cake to celebrate Fishir’s 68th birthday, which was the day before.
They got more entertainment than they expected.
As the pond went down, there was a green film left on the shore. A mink ran across a drier section of sand, and little frogs headed toward the water.
An E.L. Vining & Son excavator operator drove the machine down over a grass embankment into the muck and started moving the sediment.
Tony Adams piled it near the edge of the pond, which looked like marshland. The piles are expected to be removed next week.
By Thursday afternoon, workers had dropped the water level about 3 feet, Lawrence said. A makeshift dam was constructed to prevent the water from Beaver Brook from draining into the pond while the sediment was being removed. The pond is about an acre and about 4 feet at the deepest part.
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