About Us > Volunteers from Kittery & Eliot Complete Watershed Survey
Kittery
Quarterly
July
28, 2005
51 Volunteers from Kittery & Eliot helped to implement the Watershed
Survey on June 4th.
Last year the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) awarded the Towns of Kittery and Eliot a grant for $23,275 to conduct a DEP 319 Non-Point Source Pollution (NPSP) Watershed Survey of Spruce Creek.
On June 4, 2005, 51 volunteers representing many aspects of our community (the Planning Board, the Kittery Conservation Commission, the Kittery Shellfish Commission, the Kittery Land Trust, Eliot Conservation, the Spruce Creek Association, and local residents and businesses) took to Spruce Creek’s muddy tributaries such as Wilson Brook, Hutchins Creek, Chickering Creek, Gerry’s Brook and others looking for signs of polluted run-off (NPSP). The purpose of the survey and the resulting report and recommendations is to understand and protect the water quality of Spruce Creek.
The
day started with the volunteers attending a two-hour training session
led by the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at the Kittery Council
Chambers. The training focused on recognizing potential sources of pollution
and how to document this information by camera and hand-held global positioning
(GPS) device. It was followed by a wonderful lunch at Bob’s Clam
Hut, donated by Spruce Creek Association member and Bob’s Clam Hut
owner, Michael Landgarten. The day’s work surveying over 45 miles
of tributaries by the twelve teams was made easier by the use of hand-held
GPS units loaned by the Kittery Trading Post.
A second, water-borne portion of the survey was conducted by boat on June 16 in the late afternoon by eight hardy volunteers in cold, rainy conditions. The data assembled by all of the volunteers is now in the hands of the Wells Reserve for analysis. Next spring the information on Spruce Creek will be made available in their survey report which will include gathered evidence of pollution, prioritized issues, and suggested best management practices for achieving and maintaining good water quality in Spruce Creek.
Spruce
Creek is listed by the Maine DEP as a watershed-at-risk because of development.
Cutting vegetation within 100 feet of the water’s edge of Spruce
Creek and/or its tributaries, leveling ground, and putting down hard surfaces
such as driveways and grass without vegetative buffers are common practices
that create a condition where storm water has an easier, faster path to
travel to the creek. The fast-moving stormwater carries products of modern
society such as lawn and yard chemicals, motor oil, fertilizers, as well
as animal waste, garden debris, and leaking septic systems into the creek.
While a single homeowner’s yard may not be a problem, it is the
combination of all of our homes and practices that create the water quality
issue. No one in our community wants Spruce Creek’s water quality
to further degrade. We can all be part of the solution. To learn more
about non-point source pollution and Spruce Creek visit www.sprucecreekassociation.org.
© 2009 Spruce Creek Association. All rights reserved.