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Belgrade Lakes: Water Quality Hit By "Silence," Lack of Funds

November 03, 2007 - OAKLAND -- The 13 municipalities in the Belgrade Lakes watershed need to dedicate more resources to tighten up enforcement of shoreline zoning laws, environmental experts told town officials Monday.

The respective town governments must take a more active role in shaping growth in order to maintain the ecology of the lakes, according to Roy Bouchard, a biologist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

"I can tell you, this is as sensitive a situation as any in the state of Maine," Bouchard told a group of 50 town managers, code enforcement officers, residents and others from the various communities.

A panel of experts included Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance Executive Director Peter Kallin, Maine Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials Coordinator LaMarr Cannon and representatives from the Maine DEP.

They urged town officials to pay their code enforcement officers for more hours each week to enable them to be more thorough in policing their municipalities.

Most of the towns in the watershed only pay their code enforcement officers to work part time.

Bouchard cited statistics from various studies that indicate water quality in several of the Belgrade Lakes is being degraded, and discussed the potential repercussions of allowing them to slide further.

It all starts with unchecked land development, according to Rich Baker, DEP's director of shoreline zoning.

Paved or mown areas allow rainwater runoff at increased speeds, which means more erosion and increased phosphorus levels in the lakes, he said. Phosphorus fuels algae growth in the lakes, which turns them murky and green.

Degraded water quality doesn't just affect fish; it affects local economies, as well.

Kallin said tourism and other activities connected to the lakes in Maine generate an estimated $3 billion a year for the state.

Shoreline zoning laws were intended to protect water clarity by preserving buffer zones that naturally-growing vegetation along the banks provide, Kallin said.

"Maine has a very strong shoreline zoning act that, if it is enforced and complied with, will go a long way toward protecting our lakes," he said. "(The laws) only help if we use them."

Belgrade Town Manager Dennis Keschl said improving code enforcement will take members throughout the various communities.

"I think there's a code of silence among many of the property owners along the shorelines," he said. "So we need to figure out how we can break that."

SOURCE: Natural Resources Council of Maine

DATE: 10-30-2007


Lakes:
Regions: Belgrade


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