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Surveying the Watershed of Moose Pond in southwestern Maine

August 05, 2010 - BRIDGTON -- In May, the Moose Pond Association (MPA), in conjunction with Lakes Environmental Association (LEA) and Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District (CCSWCD), conducted a watershed survey on Moose Pond, located in Bridgton, Sweden and Denmark, Maine.

Sitting at the foot of Pleasant Mountain, Moose Pond has a surface area of 1,617 acres and the Moose Pond Watershed includes 11,170 acres. The pond is also part of the Saco River Watershed. A watershed is all the land that drains or sheds its water into a pond or lake. Though the water quality is rated as "good," the mid and lower basins of the pond show moderate dissolved oxygen depletion.

Healthy watersheds are the main goal for a healthy environment and economy. Phosphorus is an important nutrient that occurs in different forms throughout the environment. Excess phosphorus in aquatic systems, however, can lead to over-fertilization in a lake or stream. This over-fertilization can result in an overabundance of aquatic plants (algal bloom), which in turn can deplete oxygen from the water thorugh the decay process. As water quality declines and habitat is damaged, lakefront property values decline, which affects individual landowners and the economics of the entire community.

Developed watersheds mean vegetation has been removed and the land smoothed out for homes, lawns, driveways and roads. Five to ten times more phosphorus comes from developed watersheds. In contrast, forested watersheds filter storm water naturally through pine needles, leaves and other vegetated buffers which slow run-off.

Non-point source (NPS) pollution comes from a variety of sources. You can't point to it like point source pollution, which is discharged from pipes. Erosions, pesticides and toxins are all examples of NPS pollution, which are picked up by stormwater run-off and carried to the lake.

A watershed survey is a volunteer effort to identify sites of run-off and erosion. Volunteers are trained to conduct a field survey and identify sites to be fixed. For the Moose Pond survey, Heather True, project manager of CCSWCD, and Wendy Garland, grant administrator for Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP), conducted the training in early May.

Ten teams were each assigned a section of the watershed. All 1,400 landowners had previously been sent a postcard explaining the survey and had been given the option to have their property excluded.

The goal was to identify sources of erosion, i.e. exposed roots and stones, road ruts, bare soil, accumulated or transported sediment and deltas in the pond. For the most part, surveyors spent less than fifteen minutes on a site. If they noted roof run-off and any other problems, they then identified the site on a tax map, took photos and GPS readings, wrote a brief description of the problem and described fixes.

Fixes include directing run-off to stable vegetation by creating meandering footpaths to the pond, installing a drip edge trench along the drip line of a house without a gutter, using a rain barrel to capture water, planting vegetated buffers, crowning a road or driveway, installing run-off diverters such as rubber razors or open-top culverts, etc.

A watershed survey is not a finger-pointing experience. Instead, it's meant to be an overall review of the area with the common goal of preserving long-term water quality.

As a follow-up to the survey, Heather True and LEA's Colin Holme, are double-checking sites identified as medium and high impact. Part of this process includes soil measurements to determine how much soil washes into the pond each year and how this translates into phosphorus overload. Final findings will be reported in February 2011, at which time the Moose Pond Association and Lakes Environmental Association will decide whether or not to seek grant funding to address sites. Grant funding for this watershed survey and a potential implementation project are provided through the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Section 319 grants are administered by the Maine DEP through a competitive grant process. Implementation grants address both specific high priority impact sites and individual residential sites. If an implementation grant is pursued and awarded for the Moose Pond Watershed, funding would not be received until January 2012.

Maine may be known for having some of the cleanest lakes in the nation, but we all need to work together to continue to protect them. For more information, please contact Heather True at CCSWCD at 207.892.4700 or via e-mail at htrue@cumberlandswcd.org.

by Leigh Macmillen Hayes, The Bridgton News, August 5, 2010

Lakes: Moose Pond
Regions: Sebago


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