A new catch basin and installation of an eight-inch thick overflow pipe are expected to prevent future flooding near the Boothbay Region High School entrance. A Maine Department of Transportation crew expects to complete the project on Friday, Jan. 6.

The crew has spent three weeks correcting the overflow water created by a beaver’s dam. The MDOT removed the barrier located near the Flagship Inn on Townsend Avenue in Boothbay Harbor two weeks ago. The dam caused water to run underneath the high school’s entrance. The overflow would then shoot eastward behind the YMCA, and continue behind Rite Aid and across the road to the Chamber of Commerce. 

The overflow eventually made its way toward Mill Cove, according to Alternative Organizational Structure 98 Facilities Director David Benner who explained the DOT’s project to the Community School District Trustees on Jan. 4. MDOT officials have monitored the situation for several weeks. Officials expected a catch basin located between the school entrance and BRYMCA entrance to alleviate overflow, but unusually heavy rains in the fall created too much water for the system to handle.

“The rain created an abundance of water and we expected the catch basin to take care of it,” said MDOT Crew Supervisor Randy Butterfield. “The problem was the area was too flat for the water to drain, but installing the overflow pipe should solve the problem.”

Seven of the DOT’s 10-person Edgecomb maintenance crew worked on the project, according to Butterfield.