SUN JOURNAL • February 13, 2022
Last summer, western Maine was in the midst of a severe drought, the worst in at least two decades, which caused some lakes and rivers to hit record lows and wells to run dry. Even now, much of the Rangeley lakes region remains in severe and moderate drought conditions. Yet, a group of locals who believe poor water management, not the drought, is to blame for what they say was the lowest summer water level in decades. Two of the three major inflows to Lake Umbagog, as well as the only outflow, are controlled by dams acquired by Brookfield Renewable a decade ago. But below the surface of Brookfield’s water management is a complex interplay of license requirements and competing interests.