AUBURN — A lengthy communitywide debate over Lake Auburn water quality protections that led to a court battle this year could reach a conclusion in early 2023.

While the city of Lewiston and the Auburn Water District still appear to be negotiating on the suit behind the scenes, officials at the Lake Auburn Watershed Protection Commission have been reviewing newly released studies that could guide policy decisions next year.

According to the most recent court filings, both parties agreed to freeze deadlines for when documents are due, signaling the two sides may believe they will be able to settle the suit without going to a trial. The deadlines had already been extended once while the sides were awaiting engineering reports.

Meanwhile, representatives from both cities serving on LAWPC recently received reports from two consultants, which conducted peer reviews of a previous study by FB Environmental that has been the basis for much of Auburn’s policy decisions related to the lake.

One report, from CDM Smith, looked at the previous assessment of the watershed boundary in the Gracelawn Road area, which has been at the center of the watershed debate. The review agrees with a large portion of the previously amended watershed boundary, but said questions remain about which way groundwater flows in other areas. A map submitted by CDM Smith gives a range of likely watershed boundaries in the area between the Gendron gravel pit and Central Maine Community College.

The other report, from CEI, looked at the overall FB Environmental report, which gave opinions on proposals to update septic design standards in the watershed and other changes.

While CEI said it largely agrees with FB Environmental’s overall findings, it questions a few major elements, including the septic updates. It said there may be other ways to achieve the city’s stated goals of better-working septic systems without creating new buildable areas.

CEI also cautioned the city from “discounting” the Gracelawn Road area from the watershed entirely, stating that the potential impacts to the lake will depend on how the area, including the gravel pit, is “restored and developed.”

Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque said he expects the council would adopt “the most conservative (watershed boundary) line,” erring on the side of caution.

He said for 2023, he foresees the City Council approving an updated watershed boundary, septic design standards and density requirements that the Auburn Water District could apply to the upper watershed towns.

In its most recent analysis, FB Environmental said that taken together, Auburn’s proposed changes would decrease the buildable acreage and projected new houses in the watershed. However, CEI said it disagrees with an FB Environmental assumption that no additional development would occur in the agricultural zone.

One of CEI’s major recommendations is prohibiting development within the 300-foot buffer of the lake, because septic systems closest to the lake “pose the greatest risk of passing contaminants such as nutrients, pathogens, and viruses.”

“This removes some of the uncertainty of the models in the most critical areas of the watershed,” it states.

Evan Cyr, chairman of LAWPC, said the commission is moving forward with developing recommendations to the Auburn Water District. He said the recommendations have not been finalized, but that they will likely include recommendations from both the FB Environmental and CEI suggestions.

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