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Town Easement to Protect Water Source

September 26, 2007 - BREWER - The city took an enormous step this week toward protecting its lone water source at Hatcase Pond and local officials hope other steps will follow.

City Council members accepted a conservation easement from Dedham residents Philip and Joanne Johnson for 545 acres or nearly 24 percent of the Hatcase Pond watershed.

"It's huge," Mike Riley, Brewer Water Department superintendent, said Friday.

"Once we're able to own or have conservation easements for the land in the watershed, we'll be able to control the quality of the pond permanently."

Brewer gets its water from the William Hayes Water Treatment Facility at Hatcase Pond in Dedham.

The city paid $60,900 for the easement, which will protect the land from development.

"It demonstrates a firm commitment on the city's part to pursue watershed protection of this important source of drinking water for its 10,000 residents," Riley said.

Phil and Joanne Johnson should be commended, City Manager Steve Bost said.

The Johnsons "could have sold this land to developers for a good deal more money than they received for the conservation easement," he said.

With the easement, the city now controls about 40 percent of the roughly 2,300-acre watershed.

"We've purchased quite a bit, a couple hundred acres," Riley said. "This is the first formal conservation easement."

Talks are under way with six other pond landowners.

About half of the remaining property is owned by The Mountainy Pond Club, a Maine corporation established in the 1920s, now controlled by 15 camp owners. If the club were to jump on board with the city, Brewer would control about 80 percent of the watershed, Riley said.

"We've started discussions," he said. "They tell us we don't have anything to worry about."

"The city would like to use the successful acquisition of this easement as a steppingstone" to obtain others, Bost said.

The agreement also demonstrates to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that the city is actively fulfilling a federal requirement to protect its water quality, and by doing so is avoiding the cost of constructing a multimillion-dollar filtration plant, Riley said.

"This was a collaborative effort, a true example of a public-private partnership which benefits all parties," Mayor Michael Celli said. "The beauty of this easement is that it's permanent."

Saturday, September 22, 2007 - Bangor Daily News

Lakes: Hatcase Pond
Regions: Bangor


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