Projects
Projects in the Spruce Creek Watershed
Current and On-going Initiatives
Spruce
Creek Watershed Improvement Project, Phase I
Sponsored by the Town of Kittery (in close partnership
with the Town of Eliot, the Spruce Creek Association, and the York County
Soil and Water Conservation District), the Spruce
Creek Watershed Improvement Project will be funded under the 319 Stormwater
program of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (using EPA
funds). The project will start May 2008 and run through March 2010, working
to reduce bacteria loading and the export of sediment and nutrients into
Spruce Creek by addressing a full suite of polluted runoff problems. The
project also contains many outreach, education, and monitoring aspects.
Water
Quality Monitoring
Each summer season our volunteers work to monitor
for dissolved oxygen, salinity and temperature from June through the
end of September. Every other Tuesday a team of two volunteers go out
and monitor six sites in Spruce Creek, three above the Rt. 1 Bridge and
three below, at the low and high tides. The data collected will enable
us to establish a water quality baseline and will be compared to Maine
DEP standards in order to better understand Spruce Creek's current stress
levels and provide an objective basis for corrective action.
Restoration
Monitoring
The Wells
Reserve has started what is expected to be a three year monitoring
project for NOAA's Restoration Science Center of how the salt marsh reacts
to the removal of the flash boards. They will be marking out three different
transects from the upland edge to the creek edge above the Route 1 crossing.
Along each transect they will have 5 vegetation plots (to measure changes
in vegetation) and 5 shallow water wells (1/2 inch diameter PVC pipe to
measure ground water salinity). On one of the transects they will install
three groundwater monitoring wells (1.25 inch diameter PVC pipe for measuring
salinity and tide height). The shallow water wells stick about 6 inches
above the marsh surface and are not visible with vegetation growth. The
ground water wells are about 2 feet above the surface of the marsh and
will be painted green to blend in. All the wells and transect markers
will remain in the marsh from year to year for consistent results. The
Spruce Creek is one of four restoration sites from Kittery to Scarborough
that will be compared to a reference site at the Wells Reserve. While
the Wells Reserve currently only has funding for one year they expect
the project to go at least three years.
MR
Fecal Coliform Monitoring
Mara and Marty have been hard at work since April 2005 collecting water
samples on a monthly (and sometimes quarterly...) basis at three sites
above the Rt. 1 Bridge. The samples then travel to Department of Marine
Resources (DMR) lab in Booth Bay and are analyzed for fecal
coliform.
Phragmites
Control Project
In partnership with the York County Soil & Water Conservation District,
we are beginning our phragmites control project
in summer 2008. We have identified several stands of this invasive reed
in the watershed and are hoping to eradicate it throughout the whole watershed
through the YCS&WCD grant program. This will prevent the invasion
by this reed and the subsequent elimination of other valuable species
in our marsh areas.
Purple
Loosestrife Beetle Release Program
The Spruce Creek association is working in partnership with the Rachel
Carson National Wildlife Refuge of Wells, Maine to participate in their
program of distributing Galerucella beetles, a biological control agent
for purple loosestrife, a noxious invasive weed. Releasing
biocontrol beetles throughout the range of loosestrife will allow
native plants to re-establish themselves on invaded wetlands, restoring
the biological viability of these important ecosystems.
Thompson
Mill Pond Restoration Opportunity Assessment
Through a grant from the Maine Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership
grant program the Spruce Creek Association and the Kittery Land Trust
are planning to conduct a study of the Thompson Mill Pond area of Kittery's
Spruce Creek. We are hoping to get a better understand the feasibility
of restoration and remediation work to one of Kittery's most beautiful,
environmentally sensitive, and historic areas. Should there be a strong
indicated need for any restoration, a procedure for remediation will be
proposed for consideration.
Recently Completed Initiatives
Spruce
Creek Watershed-based Management Plan
The Spruce Creek Watershed-based Management Plan will
serve as a blueprint for restoring and protecting our estuary. With crucial
input from stakeholders, it identifies the most pressing problems in our
estuary and establish goals, objectives, and actions for resolving them.
The Management Plan also contains strategies
for monitoring progress and financing implementation. The plan will be
a living document that will be reexamined and revised on a regular basis
to ensure that the goals, objectives, and specific actions continue to
address the most pressing problems. We welcome any and all input!
Coastal
Cleanup
On September 21, 2007 the Spruce Creek Association helped out the Kittery
Conservation Commission with their Kittery Coastal Cleanup day, with volunteers
assisting at Rogers Park and Eagle Point. SCA volunteers collected about
50 pounds of trash including lots of cigarette butts, plastics bags, styrofoam
cups and large pieces of styrofoam (flotation) that was in the process
of deterioration. Other "finds" included several pots and pans,
a kids tricycle, a tent, a broken fiberglass dory, and a lot of freshly
dumped yard waste. Town-wide, volunteers removed over 350 pounds of trash
from our coast.
Culvert
Assessment
With a $10,000 grant from the Maine Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership,
the Town of Kittery Public Works Department hired an engineering firm
to determine the tidal
curves at two culverts upstream in Spruce Creek, one at Picott Road
and the other at Wilson Road, in order to assess culvert replacement needs
in terms of size, location and elevation. The Town has received the report
and recommendations and will use the findings to ensure the new culverts
allow for better fish passage and provide a more natural stream bed. UPDATE!
For photos of the culvert replace, please visit our Shutterfly
Online Photo Gallery.
Storm
Drain Stencilling (2005 & 2007)
With the help of the Spruce Creek Association and the support
of the Town’s Public Works Department, in 2007 students stenciled
the phrase “Keep it Clean – Drains to Creek [or ‘River’]”
in an effort to educate the public and raise awareness regarding stormwater
and the path it takes to receiving water bodies, in this case, Spruce
Creek and the Piscataqua River. Juniors and seniors concentrated on the
densely populated residential areas close to the high school, including
Admiralty Village while members of a sixth grade science class volunteered
two hours of after-school community service time stenciling the storm
drains in the Route 1 outlet area. This program was initially conducted
in 2005 as part of the Phase II Stormwater Regulatory Program, which regulates
stormwater discharge from small municipalities. Part of the regulation
requires the use of public education to raise awareness concerning stormwater
pollution while at the same time promoting ways the public can help reduce
it. The Town of Kittery is subject to the new regulation.
Tidal
Restriction Removal
In 2005, the Kittery Town Council voted to conduct a flushing
demonstration of Spruce Creek. This year-long demonstration consisted
of removing the flashboards from the tidal restriction located at US Route
1 and allowing the water to flow in both directions through the open dam
in order to improve water quality and restore a more productive and healthy
habitat. After a year, the steering committee reconvened, presented their
findings to the Town Council and it was voted to keep the flashboards
out indefinitely, thus restoring the tidal flow to the upper reaches of
Spruce Creek.
Nonpoint
Source Pollution Survey (2005-2006)
The
project objective of the survey was to recognize
and locate polluted runoff (non-point-source pollution) that causes
degraded water quality. The towns of Kittery and Eliot and the Spruce
Creek Association were awarded a DEP grant in the amount of $23,725 for
this effort. Findings from the June 2005 survey of the tributaries are
compiled in a report presented to the towns by the Wells Reserve. (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.)
Inventory
of Habitat Restoration Opportunities
The Maine Coastal Program (part of the Maine State Planning Office)
conducted an inventory of habitat restoration opportunities in Spruce
Creek. The project included identifying and prioritizing potential restoration
sites to help us to better understand remediation options.
Water
Quality Monitoring 2005
In
2005 we monitored dissolved oxygen, salinity
and temperature from June through the end of September. Each Tuesday
a team of two went out and monitored six sites in Spruce Creek, three
above the Rt. 1 Bridge and three below, at the low and high tides. The
data collected will enable us to establish a water quality baseline and
will be compared to Maine DEP standards in order to better understand
Spruce Creek's current stress levels and provide an objective basis
for corrective action.
Healthy
Beaches Enterococcus Monitoring
In 2005 we worked with the Healthy Beaches Program to ensure
safe water quality and get some "free" entercoccus
analysis for Spruce Creek. We thank the people at the University of
Maine Cooperative Extension, Healthy Beaches Program.
Stormwater
Phase II Program for Berwick, South Berwick, Eliot, and Kittery
In
response to the 1987 Amendments to the Clean Water Act (CWA), the US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) developed Phase I of the National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) Storm Water Program in 1990. The Phase I program
addressed sources of storm water runoff that had the greatest potential
to negatively impact water quality. The Phase II regulations expand the
existing National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) storm
water program (Phase I) to address storm water discharges from small municipal
separate storm sewer systems (MS4s) (those serving less than 100,000 persons)
and construction sites that disturb one to five acres. EPA
believes that the implementation of the six minimum measures identified
for small MS4s should significantly reduce pollutants in urban storm water
compared to existing levels in a cost-effective manner. Similarly, EPA
believes that implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP) controls
at small construction sites will also result in a significant reduction
in pollutant discharges and an improvement in surface water quality.
MS4
Watershed Survey Report
In May 2003, the Towns of Berwick, South Berwick, Eliot, and
Kittery, Maine became subject to the Maine Pollution Discharge Elimination
System (MEPDES) General Permit for the Discharge of Stormwater from Small
Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4 General Permit). The MS4 General
Permit required that each Town prepare a five year plan to protect stormwater
from becoming polluted. The five-year plan contains six minimum control
measures to protect stormwater. One of the measures discusses the need
for the regulated communities to participate in a public education program.
The general goal of this program is to inform the community of the potential
effects of stormwater pollution and ways to protect stormwater. This watershed
survey has been conducted to identify specific stormwater issues, allowing
future public education efforts to be focused towards issues that have
an impact on the region. The field survey was performed by Edwards and
Kelcey of Portland, Maine during May 9 - May 12, 2005. The results were
presented at the Southern Maine Regional Stormwater Phase II Meeting on
September 21, 2005. (View the full
report and the appendices.)
Stormwater
Assessment and Retrofit Inventory of Route 1
The State Planning Office has completed a project mapping
the Department of Transportation's (DOT) stormwater outfalls along
the Route 1 commercial corridor. Next steps are to potentially pursue
DOT grant money available to help remedy the problems caused by stormwater
runoff on DOT roadways and improve water quality in Spruce Creek. (Stormwater
runs over the roadways picking up contaminants. Most often along the Route
1 corridor this water washes directly into Spruce Creek - a big pollutant
problem for our creek.)
Buffers
and the Use of Native Plants Presentation
Martha Petersen made a wonderful presentation at our second
annual meeting in May 2005 to learn about buffers and the use of native
plants. Selecting the right plants to plant along the water's edge
can improve both the aesthetics as well as the functionality of the shoreline.
Buffers can enhance any landscape while reducing harmful runoff. There
are many ways to beautify your garden while improving the water quality
of Spruce Creek (or any water body). We all learned a great deal about
the importance of buffers and resources and ideas for implementing these
in our own watershed. Be sure to check out these resources
for buffers, native plants and responsible yard practices as well
as the DEP's
Riparian Zone (Streamside/Shoreland), Forested Buffer, and Stream-Friendly
Landscaping Information.
© 2006 Spruce Creek Association. All rights reserved.