Maine Precipitation Totals for Last Two Springs (and some of 2003)
In the last three years, the areas where these two buildings sites are located have seen water levels rise from Silver Lake to inundate both of them. There has been controversy over whether the wetlands are formed from "groundwater swell"as the developers have proposed, or are connected by surface waters. There was an allegation last year when the Chester site was filled with water and the Hill site was under construction that there had been a "trench" dug which had caused the water presence. This was B. S. plain and simple. The vegetation around the area where this "trench" was, was not only well established, but did not show signs other than probable soils tests done by the Chesters themselves. The areas where Hill construction was to take place is mapped as cranberry bog on maps from 120 years ago! Yet this trench non-sense became part of the dialogue about this area, both at Phippsburg Board of Appeals hearings on the matter and, I have heard, by the applicants in lots of other discussions in the neighborhood as well. The implication was that this had caused an aberration in the water levels which should not influence the permitting of either project. These rumors and inaccurate descriptions of the topography were enough for town officials to dismiss the ecological realities of the area and to validate the town's erroneous permitting. This year's sustained rise (for a period of three and a half months) in water levels from Silver lake will similarly be dismissed as an aberration because of the unusually great amounts of rain which we had in April, May, and June. However, this will not take into account the fact that the area was under water in March, before the copious quantities of rain. The statistics below show how this spring did become one of the wettest on record, but only after the rains of April, May and June contributed to the total amounts. The three month period ending March 31st (See below summary for March, mid page of the linked page), was only the 59th (of 134) wettest on record. This includes the snowfall of the winter. By the end of June, the total year to date (YTD) totals had pushed the year statistically into record territory.
The fact is that these areas have always become filled with water as the level of Silver Lake has risen, and it has been that way not only in the past year with the high amounts of rainfall and snowfall, but in the last 120 years as well, both when the rainfall totals have been minimal and record breaking for the lack of totals as was the case last year (see climate summaries for 2004 and pictures from last spring). People have testified before the Phippsburg Board of Appeals about the regularity of this (see BOA hearing here) and the first time permitting was attempted in these areas, in 1985-6, Phippsburg town officials at the time made ample mention of the presence of water in these areas (see 1986 Hill permitting letters from town planning boards and others here). The aerial photos available on the town's own web site show these areas under water, as do the maps supplied with DEP permitting by the applicants in both the Wyatt/Hill permits and the Chester permits. Wetland alteration permits have been required by both sites which is proof enough that water is present in these areas. The town still permits septic system elements in these areas! Photos on this site show the areas with water in them over the last few years. 2002 was an exceptional year in that it was a drought. Otherwise these areas have seen plenty of water. Look here for a chronological view of my yard, the Wyatt/Hill site, and the Chester Site.
Below are copies of the climate summaries for Portland and Gray Maine for the last two years with pictures from the time frames linked in to them.The link to these pages on the NOAA web site is http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/gyx/climate.shtml- copy and paste link or click here- Maine Climate Summaries (all open in separate page-close page to return to this page)
March YTD 2004 Look at the middle of these pages for summary	Pictures from - Chester here, Wyatt/ Hill here, Also pictures from 2003 here
April 2004 Look at thre middle of the second page for summary info	Chester Site, Wyatt/Hill Site
March YTD Summary Portland/Gray 2004	Chronological look at sites - Chester here, Wyatt/Hill here
April Summary Portland/Gray 2005
May Summary Portland/Gray 2005
June Summary Portland/Gray 2005