Water Quality

Introduction

Water is the essence of life. Water is in a constant state of recycling. Evaporation from lakes, rivers, oceans, the formation of clouds, the falling of precipitation, the soaking into the ground, the surface runoff to streams, lakes, rivers and oceans are all part of the endless cycle. In an undisturbed environment, nature purifies the water that flows back to lakes and streams. When man alters the watershed to build houses and roads and to clear land, we impair the natural purification process. Moreover, we introduce pollutants into the water recycling process.

Monitoring

Damariscotta Lake is a fragile ecosystem that reacts and responds to changes that take place in our watershed. By constantly testing and monitoring water quality throughout the Lake, the Association has been able to establish a baseline set of measures and is able to detect changes which threaten our valuable resource. The latest water monitoring report, Damariscotta Lake Water Quality Monitoring & Assessment Report 2001, illustrates how seasonal weather conditions alone can influence water quality.

Camp Roads

The Association, working with State and local agencies, has conducted studies of camp roads and other potential sources of "nonpoint source pollution" in the watershed. Problem sites were identified at 107 private roads and driveways, 32 state and town owned roads and 22 other sites in the watershed. By communicating with landowners about possible problems and potential solutions, the Association and landowners are working together to mitigate the negative effects development has on water quality of Damariscotta Lake. The Association has even obtained grant money from the State to help fund some of the needed improvements. Nonetheless, the State of Maine has declared Damariscotta Lake to be an endangered lake due to the overall increasing population and development activity in the midcoast area.

Take Action

There are things that you can do to help protect our lake. They range from controlling erosion to improving vegetative buffers to help filter water runoff. Simple and easy to follow guidelines are available in the list of Water Quality Fact Sheets. Proper camp road maintenance is critical to managing and minimizing the amount of phosphorus that is introduced into the lake. A comprehensive Camp Road Maintenance Manual is available on-line or can be obtained at the DLWA office (this is a large document in PDF format and takes several minutes to download).   Do your part.  Don't pollute and do something positive to help improve life in the Watershed. For more action opportunities, click here.  For additional links on the issue of water quality, click here

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