CANTON – The chairman of the town committee overseeing the Whitney Brook dam said Monday that he hopes a permit for a temporary structure will be issued by the end of the month.

Malcolm Ray, who heads the Dam Core Committee, also said the Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants a five-cubic-feet-per-second flow for the temporary dam and is concerned about water overflowing it. Ray said a culvert under the sandbags could answer the first issue, and installing a four-foot spillway lined with logs in the center of the dam would handle the second.

The dam, which regulates the level of Lake Anasagunticook, was taken by the town last summer after its previous owner failed to maintain it and the state declared it was a threat to public safety.

Canton has hired Kleinschmidt Engineering of Pittsfield and Falmouth to design a permanent dam, estimated to cost $250,000. The committee hopes to meet with Kleinschmidt on Jan. 26.

The nearly two-mile-long lake straddles Canton and Hartford.

Committee member Judy Hamilton said Hartford is asking for equal representation on the committee that will oversee maintenance of the permanent dam. A proposed agreement between the two towns calls for two members from Hartford, and three from Canton, including the Canton Water District. The district will do the bulk of the maintenance.

Hamilton suggested having a committee of two members from each town, the Lake Anasagunticook Association and the water district.

Ray suggested putting the water district on the committee as advisors but without a vote.

David Bowen of Hartford was appointed to rewrite the agreement after the water district is contacted.

Ray said more members are needed on the Dam Core Committee.

Rob Turnbull, Polly Bussiere and Jackie Conant volunteered to look into the availability of grants.

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