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FARMINGTON — The 30 Mile River Watershed Association and its Youth Conservation Corp is taking appointments for free site visits from landowners.
The organization has been working for more than a decade to keep the lakes, ponds and streams spanning the area from New Sharon to Leeds and including the towns of Chesterville, Fayette, Mount Vernon, Readfield, Vienna and Wayne, healthy.
It has long been accepted that one of the largest threats to water quality is polluted storm water runoff. As storm water flows, it can erode away bare ground, picking up pollutants along the way, such as fertilizers, bacteria, grease and soil.
This polluted runoff adds phosphorus, a nutrient feeding algae, to lakes and ponds. Therefore, as phosphorus increases, the likelihood of harmful algal blooms also increases. These blooms cause a decline in water quality and hurt property values, recreation and aquatic organisms.
To decrease the amount of phosphorus entering lakes and ponds, and to preserve water quality, the Youth Conservation Corps program was founded in 2010.
Back for its eighth season, the YCC crew works throughout the 30 Mile River Watershed to install low-cost erosion control projects, with the ultimate goal of protecting water quality.
If landowners suspect erosion on their property might be affecting the water quality of a nearby lake or pond, YCC can assess the problem and consider if a YCC project will stem contaminants and nutrients from non-point source pollution. NPS pollution does not come from industrial sites or sewage treatment plants; rather, it is caused by rainfall or snow melt moving over and through the ground, picking up natural nutrients and contaminants and depositing them in bodies of water..
To date, YCC has completed 100 projects, offering services to anyone with property in the 30 Mile River Watershed. This includes property near Androscoggin Lake, David Lake, Echo Lake, Flying Pond, Lovejoy Pond, Minnehonk Lake, Parker Pond, and Pocasset Lake, just to name a few.
To arrange a free site visit, contact steward@30mileriver.org, call 207-860-4043, or submit a project request through the YCC webpage. During the site visit, a technical adviser will assess specific problems or simply review the property for ways to reduce lake impact.
All work is strictly cooperative with landowners and provided on a cost-share basis. For more information visit: 30mileriver.org/programs/youth-conservation-corps/.
