Marland Dam Flood October '96

This would be the third obstacle you would encounter on a trip downstream through Andover.With no water going over the dam, you could easily climb down and lower the canoe down, however don't try this with any moving water. It is best to get out near the concrete wall behind the post office and carry the canoes across Stevens St. through the parking lots and back down to the river behind the former Suburban healthcare building, very difficult , to say the least, if you are alone.Portage could easily be built here during repair of this dam, which it is in desperate need of. I think the beavers who have been patching new leaks nightly all summer have been all that holds it together.My personal feeling about this dam is that it should not be removed, it will worsen flooding downstream, and the indigenous fish will not return unless the tunnels at the Lawrence end are also removed. A fish ladder here is the best solution, although I do not think the fish will return, ladder or no, without removing the hundred yard tunnel at the confluence of the Shawsheen and the Merrimack.