Stonington — With the recent breach of its more than 100-year-old dam, the drain plug has been pulled on Whitford Pond.

Located along Wolf Neck Road, with sections spreading into Ledyard, Whitford Pond's water levels have decreased precipitously since August, when part of Bjorn Olson's dam, on the property his family has owned since 1938, ruptured. What was once a spillway, which allows for the controlled release of water, now allows water to freely flow into Whitford Brook from the pond.

In other words, after the almost 8-foot-wide gap opened, the pond's water level was lowered to a point shallower than Olson ever remembers.

Olson, an artist and retired engineer who wants to restore the pond, has been working with Save the Sound, a nonprofit organization that seeks solutions to environmental issues along Long Island Sound.

A report prepared by Save the Sound notes the breach is a "not-uncommon occurrence" for century-old dams.

"Following the breach, Save the Sound has been working with the dam owner and engineering consultants to assess site conditions and evaluate potential alternatives," the report reads. "It is also our understanding that the owner would like to repair the dam, and condition assessments currently taking place will hopefully help inform that decision."

Olson said he expects Save the Sound to finalize its assessments in the next couple of weeks, at which point he will discuss how to move forward.

The report explains that Whitford Pond's water level dropped due to the dam breach, allowing the brook to return to its natural course and exposing areas of mud along the riverbanks not seen in the past.

"There is a degree of natural variability in wetlands, as when rivers flood or change their course, and when beaver activity raises and lowers water levels in ponds," the report states. "We do not believe the habitat at Whitford Pond is permanently harmed by the breach."

Save the Sound called Whitford Pond a "valuable habitat for wildlife, a scenic resource and cultural feature of the landscape, and as a regionally important fish migration corridor." It said it is working with Olson "to find a solution that encompasses all of those values."

Environmental groups are working to install fish ladders throughout the region, such as one at Alewife Cove in Waterford, where the Alewife Cove Conservancy is removing a dam to help alewife herring access historic spawning waters.

Dam safety and removal has become an issue across the country in connection with fish populations.

Last month, The New York Times reported that "some people find the vestiges of that industrial past attractive. Dams can resemble waterfalls, and small ponds are formed by the water that is held back. Real estate developers have capitalized on the artificial ponds by building housing developments along their banks."

Still, the Times continued, "From Maine to California, environmental groups are making the case to dismantle dams as a way to improve the ecology of river systems. Allowing fish to spawn is a chief goal," and it's something Save the Sound has been trying to do at Whitford Pond since 2012.

"Fishways (sometimes called 'fish ladders') are essentially ramps that allow migratory fish to climb up and over dams, and are installed to restore passage to a limited number of species while maintaining the pond or lake behind the dam," according to the Save the Sound report. "Save the Sound has been working since 2012 to restore migratory fish passage to Whitford Brook."

Two nearby projects to restore migratory fish passage occurred upstream of the Whitford Pond Dam at Lantern Hill Pond installed by the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe, as well as a dam removal project downstream at the former Hyde Pond Dam, done by Save the Sound.

"Fish passage is vital for species like Alewife that need access to both freshwater and saltwater habitats to breed," the report reads.

Although Olson has been cooperating with Save the Sound, he said installing a fishway isn't necessarily his chief concern. The property has been in his family since his parents decided they needed somewhere to escape to from their New York apartment in 1938, and the pond has never been this dry or dealt with a dam breach before.

Olson's sprawling, 26-acre property, which contains meadows and forest in addition to the pond and brook, stands as a testament to Olson family's past. It's also a place where Olson's daughters, who live in California and Paris, can come back to, and a space for Olson to create his abstract sculptures.

"This became a retirement home for my parents, and now it's a retirement home for me," Olson said.

Starting with his parents, the Olson family has maintained a tradition of keeping the area friendly for wildlife.

"We have not developed — we could've broken it up into lots and made money on it that way, but we decided that was not what we wanted to do," Olson said.

Olson is patiently waiting for the Save the Sound assessment to decide which course of action to take.

During a meeting with state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection fisheries biologist Steve Gephard this past summer, Olson said Gephard told him that if there is any repair to the dam, it would not take place before this upcoming summer.

"So right now things are on hold, and I don't like to look out the window to see what I see," Olson said. "It looks desolate. Perhaps three feet of water level's been lost. There are large areas, which are now exposed. There's still areas where there's water and quite a bit of duck activity, I'm happy to say, but it's not the way I want to leave it."

s.spinella@theday.com