Presumpscot River
| Presumpscot River | ||
 Presumpscot River in Westbrook |
||
| Data | ||
| Water code | US : 573801 | |
| location | Cumberland County in Maine (USA) | |
| River system | Presumpscot River | |
| origin |
Sebago Lake 43 ° 49 ′ 49 ″ N , 70 ° 27 ′ 18 ″ W. |
|
| Source height | 81 m | |
| muzzle |
Casco Bay Coordinates: 43 ° 41 ′ 30 " N , 70 ° 14 ′ 43" W 43 ° 41 ′ 30 " N , 70 ° 14 ′ 43" W. |
|
| Mouth height | 0 m | |
| Height difference | 81 m | |
| Bottom slope | 1.9 ‰ | |
| length | 43 km | |
| Catchment area | 1659 km² | |
| Right tributaries | Pleasant River , Mill Brook , Piscataqua River | |
| Medium-sized cities | Portland | |
| Small towns | Windham , Gorham , Westbrook , Falmouth | |
The Presumpscot River is an approximately 42 km long river in Cumberland County , Maine and the main drain of Sebago Lake .
The river flows through the parishes of Windham , Gorham , Westbrook , Portland and Falmouth before flowing into Casco Bay near Falmouth. It is bridged by Maine State Route 35 near North Windham, the Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division between North Windham and South Windham, and US Highway 202 in South Windham. In addition, the river is bridged again by the Maine Central Mountain Division in Westbrook and the US Highway 302 at Riverton between Westbrook and Portland. In Falmouth, the river is bridged by Interstate 495 , with the superimposed Maine State Routes 26 and 100, as well as Interstate 95 , Maine State Route 9 , the Maine Central Railroad, Interstate 295 , the Grand Trunk Railway and US Route 1 .
In addition to Sebago Lake as its main source, the Presumpscot River has three significant tributaries :
- the Pleasant River ; Estuary at Windham
- the Mill Brook (a drain of the Highland Lakes at Windham); Estuary in Westbrook
- the Piscataqua River (a drainage of Forest Lake in Cumberland ); Estuary at Falmouth
There are eight dams that obstruct the river on its way to the ocean and produce electricity from hydropower . They are called Eel Weir Dam, North Gorham Dam, Dundee Dam, Gambo Dam, Little Falls Dam, Mallison Dam, Sacarappa Dam, and Cumberland Mills Dam. The dams below the latter provide water to the locks of the Cumberland and Oxford Canals and will be modified to regulate the flow of water through the S. D. Warren Paper Mill after the canal becomes unusable. Since the relocation of the Smelt Hill Dam in Falmouth in 2002, the last 7 mi (11 km) of the river after the Cumberland Mills Dam has flowed undisturbed into the ocean.
Hydropower plants
There are eight dams with associated hydropower plants on the course of the Presumpscot River.
The hydropower plants in the downstream direction:
| Surname | Power in MW |
Number of turbines |
location | operator |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eel Weir | 1.8 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| North Gorham | 2.25 | 2 | ( ⊙ ) | Brookfield Renewable |
| Dundee | 2.4 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| Gambo | 1.9 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| Little Falls | 1.0 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| Mallison Falls | 0.8 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| Sacarappa | 1.35 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren | |
| Cumberland Mills | 0 | ( ⊙ ) | SD Warren |
In 1792 the first dam was built on the Presumpscot River at Presumpscot Falls ( ⊙ ) on the site of the former Smelt Hill Dam near Falmouth. In 2002 the Smelt Hill Dam was demolished.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Sebago Lake in the Geographic Names Information System of the United States Geological Survey
- ^ Presumpscot River in the United States Geological Survey's Geographic Names Information System
- ↑ a b c d e presumpscotriver.org ( Memento of the original from January 30, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF)
- ↑ brookfieldrenewable.com
- ↑ energyjustice.net
- ↑ hydroreform.org
