CANTON — The Lake Anasagunticook Association (LAA) recently announced the start of a two-year watershed protection project in the Lake Anasagunticook Watershed to address Non-Point Source (NPS) pollution. LAA has partnered with Oxford County Soil & Water Conservation District (Oxford County SWCD) and the Androscoggin River Watershed Council (ARWC) to conduct and manage the project. Other partners include the Towns of Canton and Hartford, Canton Mountain Wind LLC, and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (Maine DEP).

The Lake Anasagunticook Watershed Protection Project-Phase II came about in response to a watershed survey done by the Lake Anasagunticook Association and Maine DEP in 2019. The watershed survey, funded 100% by private donations, was conducted to document erosion throughout the Lake Anasagunticook Watershed. Volunteer surveyors documented 62 sites that contribute erosion to the lake. Most problems were associated with roads (town and private) followed by residential sites, and beach/boat access.

Oxford County SWCD was awarded a $51,655 grant from the Maine DEP, through Section 319 of the Federal Clean Water Act, to address some of the highest impact NPS pollution issues identified in the 2019 watershed survey. The grant, plus $34,844 in local donations of cash, labor, equipment and supplies, will be used to install “Best Management Practices (BMPs)” throughout the watershed. The goal is to prevent NPS pollution, which is primarily caused by soil erosion from stormwater runoff, from impacting the water quality of Lake Anasagunticook. Project work will focus on improving town roadsides, residential waterfront properties, and private gravel roads.

In the past decade, Lake Anasagunticook has experienced significant soil erosion from the surrounding land – the watershed – during storm events which increase the transport of phosphorous into the lake. Phosphorus particles often “hitchhike” on soil that erodes from the watershed. If too much phosphorus, a plant nutrient, enters a lake the result can be a large algae bloom that results in slimy, green lake water. Severe algae blooms have already occurred in numerous lakes in Maine, such as China Lake near Augusta and Sabattus Pond in Lewiston. The impact of these algae blooms is a decrease in water quality which has been known to cause a decline in property values. Water quality data has been collected on Lake Anasagunticook by local volunteers and Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM) since 1980. According to LSM, Secchi disk transparency (SDT) readings indicate there was an algae bloom in 1980 that was probably of short duration. SDT readings also reached a level in the late 1990s which indicate the lake was close to another algae bloom. Today, overall water quality in Lake Anasagunticook is considered to be slightly below average for Maine Lakes by LSM. Lake Anasagunticook is listed on the DEP’s Priority Watersheds List of “Threatened Lakes” because it serves as a public drinking water source.

The Lake Anasagunticook Watershed Protection Project, Phase II allows Oxford County SWCD to use federal grant dollars to assist in covering the costs of fixing large erosion problems. With the help of project partner, Androscoggin River Watershed Council (ARWC) and the participation of watershed towns, the goal is to reduce the amount of erosion that enters Lake Anasagunticook by at least 45 tons of soil per year, which is a large portion of the erosion documented in the 2019 watershed survey.

In order to address erosion issues, the Watershed Protection Project offers FREE technical assistance to landowners who request assistance dealing with erosion problems on their properties, such as a driveway or water access that is eroding. ARWC is providing a technical expert, at no cost to the landowner, who will visit them on their property to make recommendations. Matching grant awards of up to $350 are also available to landowners to help them pay for implementing erosion control measures such as planting vegetation along shorelines or installing runoff diverters on driveways. Free technical assistance and the $350 matching grants are offered on a first come-first served basis. Interested landowners who live in the Lake Anasagunticook watershed are encouraged to sign up as soon as possible by contacting Jeff Stern (ARWC), (207) 595-0317. It is important to note that all work conducted under the Lake Anasagunticook Watershed Protection Project, Phase II is entirely voluntary, and no enforcement is involved.

In addition to reducing the NPS pollution through technical assistance, the watershed protection project also includes outreach and education activities to help residents learn ways to manage their properties and camp roads to protect the lake. Oxford County SWCD will be holding two workshops during the summer months. One will focus on enhancing and preserving vegetation along and near shorelines, known as “buffers”, the other will address how to maintain and improve gravel roads to prevent erosion and runoff into the lake. Dates and locations will be announced in mid-May on the Lake Anasagunticook Association website, the LAA newsletter, and the Friends of Lake Anasagunticook Facebook Page.

The Lake Anasagunticook Association is strongly committed this project and to protecting the water quality of Lake Anasagunticook. It will be working together with all the project partners and a small group of local residents as a Steering Committee to implement and oversee the project, as well as provide outreach to help get the word out about ways the community can get involved. Funding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The funding is administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA. For further information about this project contact Michele Windsor at Oxford County SWCD, (207) 744-3111.

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