FALMOUTH, Maine — A Falmouth woman may take the Portland Water District to court to pay for damage she claims was caused by cutting of trees on Portland Water District land.
Beasely says her neighbor removed the trees on Water District land, which borders her property. The trees acted as a buffer to storm water run off. That neighbor, Scott Lambert, tells NEWS CENTER Maine he cut down a dead tree on the property 15 years ago, and the Water District was fully aware.
Beasley says she has spent more than 35-thousand dollars removing trees, replacing vegetation and adding top soil.
Eileen Beasely told the Water District about what her neighbor allegedly did -- but, she claims, the utility didn't do anything about it for months.
"This shouldn't have happened. We shouldn't be having this conversation. If they had done their inspections, they would have noticed trees being cut," said Beasley.
The Water District gave Beasley one-thousand dollars to repair the erosion and replace vegetation.
Michelle Clements, Public Relations Manager for the Portland Water District, told NEWS CENTER Maine:
"The Portland Water District owns over 2,500 acres of land, and we are happy to be able to share large portions of it with the public for passive recreational use. Generally, we do not have issues with disputes between neighbors, but in this case we have spent countless hours over the past two years working with the parties involved, trying to find amicable solutions to the dispute over how our land was and/or should be used by the neighbors. We have been to the property multiple times and have conducted an erosion assessment. We have found no indication of erosion on our property or features that could cause erosion as Mrs. Beasley asserts. At this time, we believe we have settled the concerns that needed our attention."