CANTON – Saturday was the perfect day to start putting in the steel for the temporary dam on Whitney Brook, which flows out of Lake Anasagunticook.

Malcolm Ray, the chairman of the committee in charge of the work, and volunteers decided to go ahead and do most of the project. They hope to finish the job this weekend, weather permitting, he said.

David Bowen said workers had only expected to get the I-beams in the concrete on Saturday but it was going so well, they just kept going.

The dam, which regulates the water level in the lake, is 4 feet high at the present time, but is expected to be closer to 5 feet.

Bowen said the water level was up 16 inches when he last checked.

The temporary dam’s purpose is to stabilize the water level in the lake through the summer and will be removed in the fall.

Funds are being sought to build a permanent dam over the next three years. There has been no decision on which kind of dam to build.

The old dam was deemed unsafe in May 2007 and the gates were ordered opened by the state. The structure was acquired by the town by eminent domain last year.

Anasagunticook Lake lies in Hartford and Canton.