By Lisa Williams Ackley

Staff Writer

Bridgton officials have closed the town-owned Salmon Point Campground and adjacent beach area on Long Lake, until further notice, due to high water from recent heavy rains that deluged the Lake Region over the past several days.

"We had no choice," Bridgton Town Manager Mitch Berkowitz said Tuesday, of having to close down the campground and beach. "We've shut down Salmon Point completely."

Berkowitz said seasonal renters who were currently residing at four of the sites at the campground were asked to vacate them, until water levels decline.

Septic system shut down

"We had to shut down our septic pumps, or they would burn out," the town manager said June 5. "The electric (service) is still on. We have a letter (e-mail) going out to campers (who have rented sites at Salmon Point) saying to call us first before they come to the campground this weekend."

There is irony to the campground and beach closure, according to Berkowitz, who said of the situation over the next few days, "It could be 90 degrees out, the sun is shining and you can't go to Salmon Point, because there are no bathroom facilities."

The town manager said that, if the level of Long Lake subsides to a more normal level, the high water at Salmon Point could "be purged."

However, Berkowitz said, "Long Lake is the control — once the level drops, we can get people into the campground — but, until then, we don't have any (bathroom) facilities."

"The campground is all flooded through," said Berkowitz. "You can't get to it. Even as the water goes down, there's residual water in the ground. Until all of that comes out, Long Lake is still going to be very high."