The Portland Water District announced last week that it has hired a full-time security officer to patrol the District’s 2,500 acres and nine miles of waterfront surrounding the Lower Bay.

According to district spokeperson Michelle Clements, protection of Sebago Lake has been part of the District’s mission since it was formed by an act of the Maine Legislature in 1908. Since then, the District has relied on existing staff and local authorities to carry out much of the lake protection efforts including patrols and enforcement.

The District is currently in talks with Inland Fish and Wildlife as well as the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department to determine what of any ability to enforce laws the new security officer will have. Clements said he will at least be able to evict people from PWD property for unauthorized behavior like camping, starting campfires and riding ATVs on the property.

“The events of September 11, 2001 prompted water utilities across the nation to rethink the range of potential threats and reevaluate their vulnerabilities,” clements said. “The hiring of a security officer is just another step in an effort to tighten security.”

This summer, PWD will also begin implementing a new land-use policy that will strengthen and maintain a “no trespassing zone” around the shoreline covering about 800 acres within the two-mile limit. While tightening security on the 800 acres, the district will at the same time open up 1,700 acres for public access.

“There’s been a gray area for both our staff and the public at large about our land-use policy. So we decided to make it more clear what our policy is,” Clements said. “We hope that opening some of the land will actually improve security by having another set of eyes out there.”

A main component of the security officer’s duties will be to patrol the Portland Water District’s land and work closely with the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department and Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to enforce the public land-use rules. In addition to random patrols, the security officer will play a key role in emergency planning, security initiatives, and training.

On April 11, retired police officer Rod Beaulieu began his new position as security officer at the Portland Water District, where he has been employed for the past three years as a control center operator. Prior to joining PWD, he served over 20 years as a police officer. During his tenure with the Sanford Police Department, Beaulieu supervised officers, conducted narcotics investigations and received several life saving and exceptional service awards. Beaulieu graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and has participated in numerous in-service training programs.

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