Chesterville Selectman Linda Bauer views the drainage and ditching done along Sand Pond Road by the Highway Department this summer. The improvements were to preserve the water quality of the pond. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
CHESTERVILLE — Highway Foreman Clayton Tibbetts and Town Clerk Melissa Letarte have been certified by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in basic and advanced erosion control practices.
A plaque identifying the E.A. Wright Beach on Sand Pond in Chesterville was stolen from the rock where it was attached. Elmer Wright donated the property to the town years ago. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
The two, along with 14 others from Chesterville and surrounding towns, attended a certification class taught by John Maclaine of the DEP and hosted by the town in August.
The town highway workers used their newly gained knowledge to improve Sand Pond Road to protect the water quality of the pond where the town beach is located.
The road, which was left as gravel-based last year, was improved, ditched and paved this year. A parking pull-off at the top of the public section of the road and a boat launch were paved. Workers added drainage ditches using 2-inch to 4-inch rocks. Rock-based catch basins and a culvert were installed and the road tipped away from the pond to prevent runoff into the pond.
“This work will preserve the pond, stopping stormwater pollution for many future generations,” Selectperson Linda Bauer said. “It was a team effort.”
The highway crew, led by Tibbetts, was assisted by Bob Burdick of Burdick Training and Consulting Services in Wilton and Scott Gray of S & K Earthwork in Chesterville.
The town of Chesterville Highway Department did a soil erosion control, ditching and drainage project in August and September on Sand Pond Road to prevent soil erosion from going into Sand Pond in Chesterville. Donna M. Perry/Sun Journal
It’s the first official “instance of a municipal public works department meeting the criteria of having a DEP-certified individual supervise each site,” John Maclaine wrote to Tibbetts and Burdick. “(Congratulations) on the distinction and keep up the good work protecting water quality.”
Voters in June approved spending up to $30,000 from the town’s allotment of the American Rescue Plan Act to pay for the project, which was done by permit of rule and inspected by a representative of Bureau of Land Services of the Maine Department Environmental Protection.
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