Presumpscot River Watch
(PRW), Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District (SWCD),
and the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection (DEP) are coordinating a
survey of the Pleasant River Watershed.
The purpose of this survey is to locate erosion sites and
possible sources of sediment contamination that may be having an
impact on the river’s water quality. The survey findings will be
used to make recommendations for voluntary improvements to
address soil erosion at identified sites.
The Pleasant
River Watershed includes the entire area of land surrounding the
river that slopes towards the waterbody where rain and runoff
will drain into. Activities in the watershed that take place a
long distance from the river can have as much impact on the
water quality as those that occur along the shoreline area. The
Pleasant River Watershed covers about 29 square miles in the
Towns of Windham and Gray.
Locally-led
watershed surveys such as this have been used successfully
throughout Maine to document threats to water quality. The PRW
and Cumberland County SWCD are not a regulatory agencies, and
the information we gather will not be used for any
enforcement purposes or finger pointing. Landowner participation
is purely voluntary. The idea is to give us a better handle on
the problems facing the river, help us work together to address
these problems and enable us to apply for grant funds that can
be used to fix priority problems.
We will conduct fieldwork for the
Pleasant River Watershed Survey from June through mid-November
2008. We would like to include your land in this survey, but we
will respect your property lines if you do not wish to
participate. Please contact Heather True if you do not want us
to cross your land or if you have any other questions, ideas or
comments.
