SANFORD — The Emery Mills Dam, built in 1910 by the Goodall textile industries to power their mills, according to  Sanford’s Parks, Recreation and Public Property director Marcel Blouin, will undergo some repairs, thanks to a no-interest loan through the Maine Emergency Management Agency.

City Manager Steven Buck said the $100,000 loan was approved by MEMA July 31.

When the textile mills closed in the mid-1950s,  several dams, including the Emery Mills dam in Shapleigh, were turned over to the city along with the water rights.   

Blouin said the money will include repairs to the upstream face of the dam to cut down on leakage, repairs to the gates, construction of a service road, and repairs to the trash grates that have trapped everything from a dock to tree branches to a boat, said Blouin.

The city has maintained the structures since they were acquired, but half-a-dozen years ago, the  Mousam Watershed Dam Coalition, which includes Acton and Shapleigh, was formed. Terms of the loan, which will be paid over five years,  sees Sanford pay 50 percent, with Acton and Shapleigh each paying 25 percent of the loan. 

Blouin said the city is currently seeking environmental permits  for the repair work.

“The  five-year, no interest loan allows for the work to be completed as soon as possible while providing a known and reduced multi-year payment option as opposed to funding all in one year or each town obtaining financing independently,” said Buck.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].