The Destruction of Songo Beach at Sebago Lake State Park
The photo to the left was taken in 1962 at Songo Beach at Sebago Lake
State Park.
The photo at right was taken at Songo Beach (or what's left of it) in July,
1999.
Note the almost complete absence of the famous natural sand beach in the
1999 photo.
Why the drastic difference in these photos taken 37 years apart?
The answer is that beginning in 1987, the SAPPI corporation began maintaining
much higher water levels at the Eel Weir dam at Sebago Lake's outlet. This
was done to enhance power generation at their hydroelectric dams during
the winter months.
The higher water levels have caused much of the natural sand beach at Sebago
Lake State Park to be eroded and washed away. This physical phenomenon has
been observed at a number of lakes across the United States which have had
historic lake level regimes artificially altered at outlet dams.
The massive movement of beach sand from Songo Beach was confirmed by
FOSL in the fall of 2002 when water levels were very low to a severe drought.
Our observations in 2002 found that most of the deep sand seen in the 1962
photo is now gone, even when water levels are low. Much of the deep sand
on the near shore of Songo Beach has been stripped down to a substrate of
large cobble and stones. Today, even when water levels are low, there is
little left of the deep sand beach that characterized Songo Beach in the
past.
While maximum lake levels have been slightly moderated since 1996, spring
and summer maximum lake levels remain above the 100-year historic average
for Sebago Lake. This historic lake level regime maintained the wide beach
seen in the 1962 photo. While the 1996 lake level "compromise plan"
has slowed the massive erosion that occured at Sebago in the late 1980s
and early 1980s, it has not allowed for the restoration of the natural beaches
of Sebago to their former size and condition, nor has it stopped harmful
erosion of steep wooded shorelines along the lake.
More photos
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