The fish ladder restoration project that Woolwich residents and officials at the Bath Water District hope to get off the ground might start this fall, according to District Supervisor Trevor Hunt.

The water district owns the dam at Nequasset Brook off George Wright Road and sought help from Bath-based environmental nonprofit Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) last year to restore the fish ladder.

The town of Woolwich, along with the water district and KELT then launched the Nequasset Fish Ladder Restoration project.

Volunteers estimate the fish ladder's restoration to cost approximately $350,000. The water district will contribute a significant portion of funds toward this work, but they are seeking other grants to round out the costs, Hunt said.  

So far, the project has received two grants totaling almost $40,000, according to KELT Program Director Alicia Heyburn.

The funds have come from the Maine Coastal Program for planning and public outreach initiatives and from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Trout Unlimited program. Heyburn said these funds go toward engineering costs associated with the fish ladder restoration.

“We had hoped for (a project start) last summer,” Hunt said. “And then last fall. But these things take time.”

The water district needs several permits before the project can begin. Some of the permits are issued by the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and the Army Corps of Engineers.  

In the meantime, the gulls (and people) gather at the fish ladder to watch the alewives swim upstream toward Nequasset Lake.

Visit www.kennebecestuary.org for information about volunteering.