Projects > Nonpoint Source Pollution Survey
Spruce Creek 319 Non-point Source Pollution Survey Results
The
survey team found 197 sites of nonpoint source pollution in the 9.6 square
miles of the watershed surveyed, representing over 400 impacts. When compared
with York River watershed, which encompasses 33 square miles yet only
had 185 sites, with the Ogunquit River (24 square miles, 160 sites), or
with the Little River (31 square miles and 62 sites), this is a significantly
large number of sites. 70% of the sites in Spruce Creek included some
sort of issue with nutrients, while over a third of the sites also were
impacted by trash or debris, impervious surface and lack of vegetated
buffers.
The primary remediation activities the report recommends are:
- Vegetated buffers must be protected and restored
- Trash and debris dumping needs to stop
- Impervious surfaces need to be limited
- Flow restrictions need to be re-engineered
- Conservation land needs to be increased
- Water quality testing needs to continue
- Enforcement of ATV laws needs to occur
- Stormwater control efforts need to continue
Please review the complete survey and slide presentation for more information:
- Spruce Creek Watershed Survey (PDF File, 1326 Kb)
- Presentation to Kittery Town Council, June 2006 (PDF File, 2078 Kb)
(Funding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Section 319 grants are administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA.)
Field
Work - Tributaries Survey
On
Saturday, June 4, 2005, over 50 local volunteers participated in a morning
training session led by the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
and then surveyed more than 56 miles of Spruce Creek's tributaries' shoreline
(that's over 100 miles!). Their objective was to recognize and locate
polluted runoff (non-point-source pollution) that causes degraded water
quality. Spruce Creek encompasses 52 percent of Kittery and is one of
the town's greatest natural resources. The Maine Department of Environmental
Protection considers the creek a watershed at risk. Saturday's event was
the first phase of what was a summer-long shoreland watershed survey led
by the Wells Reserve. The towns of Kittery and Eliot and the Spruce Creek
Association were awarded a DEP grant in 2005 in the amount of $23,725
for this effort.
Community support for the survey was incredible. There were volunteers from the Kittery Land Trust, the Kittery and Eliot conservation commissions, the Kittery Shellfish Commission, the Kittery Planning Board, the Spruce Creek Association, Bob's Clam Hut, Echo Rowing and the public. Staff members from the Portland DEP branch came all the way down to help out. Tin Smith from the Wells Reserve said they have never seen such a good turnout. We want to thank all of you who participated in this important event. And it was fun!
Two area businesses lent their support. Bob's Clam Hut gave all of the volunteers a wonderful lunch and wished us well as we headed out to survey. Bob's owner, Michael Landgarten, whose two restaurants abut Spruce Creek, has been an active member of the Spruce Creek Association since its beginning two years ago. We will be talking about the clam strips and haddock sandwiches (as well as the ice cream treat!) for a long time to come. Thank you, Michael, Shari and the crew, for your wonderful and generous contribution to our effort.
Field
Work - Main Portion of Spruce Creek and Barter's Creek Survey
On Thursday, June 16, 2005, two teams of volunteers completed the survey
of the main water portion of Spruce Creek and of Barter's Creek. These
results were combined with the findings of the tributaries survey earlier
in the month.
THANKS!
The Kittery Trading Post, also a Spruce Creek abutter, loaned the Wells Reserve 12 hand-held GPS units, making our work much easier. Thank you, Kevin and Bob Adams, for your support.
And many (yummy!) thanks to Michael Landgarten and the staff at Bob's Clam Hut for fortifying our volunteers before they set out to monitor.
You can read more about the project in The Portsmouth Herald and in our letter to their editor, "Survey crews appreciated" (at the very bottom of the page).
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