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Select Board presses for permanent Long Pond benchmark and timely gauge maintenance
Summary
Board members said the Long Pond gauge has been moved repeatedly and proposed installing a permanent, surveyable benchmark or staff gauge with procedures for winter removal and rapid repair as a permit condition, to improve data reliability for residents.
Board members told staff that the Long Pond gauge has been moved several times and that the resulting inconsistencies make trend interpretation difficult for residents and reviewers. Andy said the gauges movement undermines confidence in surface-level readings and suggested a permanent benchmark or a staff gauge with a surveyable reference so the board can resurvey as needed rather than rely on an instruments absolute placement.
Rick said a practical solution may be a staff gauge installed where it is wet most of the time with a permanent reference point on dry land; if the gauge is removed for winter there should be an obligation to resurvey "back to the permanent benchmark." He recommended including a permit condition requiring replacement or repair of monitoring equipment within a short window (for example, one week) and reporting those repairs to the board so the public has a reliable record of readings.
