Fall 2009 Sebago Lake Watershed Newsletter

8/9/2019 Fall 2009 Sebago Lake Watershed Newsletter

1/8

Hw Mch

Fest IsEgh?By BrIE A. HolMEHow much oreste watershe oes alake ee? More tha 75 80 perceoreste, accori to a stuy o 23lakes i Coecticut by Peter A. Sivea others. Te stuy looke at howwater chemistry chae over thepast 100 years a how those chaecorrelate with la use chaes ithe lake watershes. Te authors tookseimet cores rom the lake bottoma aalyze the remais o alae aplakto. Tey use their is toier chaes i water chemistry suchas pH, couctivity, trophic state, aitroe. Whe seimet cores werecompare to la use chaes observthrouh aerial photos, the stuy ou

chaes i water quality occurrewhe oreste la eclie to 75 to percet.

Watershed NeWf 20o r t l a nd Wa t er D i s t r i c t 2 2 5 Do ug l a ss S t r ee t Po r t l a nd , Ma i ne 0 4 1 0 4 -3 5 5 3 2 0 7 .7 6 1 .8 3 1 0 www.pwd

bgolake

The Fest Is The Fte

By pAul HunTAsk ay Maier why he or she lives here a I love the woos is likely to be ear theop o the list. We value the Maie woos to hike, hut, ski, a rie. We look orwaro the color explosio o all oliae. A we also kow that those same woos provie

may jobs. Tese are clea jobs utilizi a reewable resource icoic o our Pie reetate. Te Maie woos are part o our leacy a our ietity.

Hr I Athr Gd Ra T Lv Th Mai Wd:

CLeAn WATeR

Every year more tha 40 iches o water rais ow o our state. O that water, about

hal rus o to streams or rivers, lakes a pos, a evetually to the ocea. Aother0 percet or so evaporates uri that jourey. Te remaii 20 percet soaks itohe rou, repleishi our rouwater aquiers. Evetually, eve that rouwater

ows out o the rou ito rivers a lakes.

Th Ccti: FoResT To FAuCeT

orests act like reat spoes, slowi a soaki upwater as it travels over the la, esuri that watereaches the rouwater. Eve the water that oestoak ito the rou is cleae as it travels the orest

oor to the earest stream or lake. Forests are istru-

metal i atures water treatmet process, a whe we covert orests to otheruses, like resietial housi, we imiish the las ability to soak up alea the water. o lear more about this process, rea the article title,

Why Forests Provide Te Best Protection o pae 2.

Th Way Lif shld B

Te oo ews is that Maie is the most oreste state i theoutry. I act, accori to the US Forest Service, we have

more orest i Maie ow tha we i i 1900, whe Maiehoste may, may more small arms tha it oes toay.

o eve as our populatio ouble i the past cetury, theumber o acres o orest per Maie resiet staye about the

ame (35 acres per perso).

COnInUEd On PAgE 3

COnInUEd On PAgE 3

Photo by George Cae

2Why Forests

Prov ide the

Best Protect ion 4N a t i v e P l a n tS p o t l i g h t 5

H ow s You r Du f f?

6M a k i n g

Waves AroundS e b a g o L a k e 7

Water Watch

2 4 5 6 7


2/8

Forests are remarkably

eciet, solar-powerelivi lters. Compari thehyroloic characteristicso orests a evelopeareas hihlihts the subtleiereces i veetatio, soilproperties, a pathwayso water ow that lea tosubstatial iereces istreamow a water quality.I orests, rai tumblesthrouh the caopy o treesa shrubs, the herbaceousplats such as ers, beorereachi the litter layer.Reewe by aual aitioso leaves, twis, a braches,the litter layer is a aturalmulch that limits evaporatio,a shock absorber that protectssoil pores, a isulator thatihibits soil reezi, a asource o utriets to oster

more plat rowth a siteprotectio. Te uerlyioraic, mixe, a mierallayers i orest soils ca storea trasmit lare quatitieso water. Tis water storaecapacity a permeabilityoccasioally exceee byhurricaes or rai-o-sow evets is evelopeover ceturies by microbes,isects, earthworms,

burrowi aimals, a theeep root systems o trees ashrubs. As a result o theseecoloical characteristics,overla ow a soil erosioare rarely, i ever, observe iorest ecosystems.

I cotrast, roos a pave(impervious) suraces ievelope areas covert raior sowmelt immeiately

a irectly to stormwater.

Orametal trees, shrubs,

a ares cast someshae, itercept a usesome water, a recycleutriets i imitatio oorests. Laws also use watera utriets but typicallyrequire irriatio, ertilizers,a pesticies to maitaithe characteristics that mostpeople esire. Mowers leaveclippis to orm a thatchlayer that, while helpul, is apoor substitute or the litterlayer i orests. Last butot least, the earthwork ormost costructio projectsecreases the ability o thesoil to store a trasmitwater. opsoil (a jumblemixture o the oriial orestsoil layers) is bulloze itopiles beore the subsoil is useor cut a ll. Te topsoil

is sprea back over the sitea seee to rass as the laststep. Te weiht a vibratioo the heavy machierycauses soil compactio thatofe ihibits raiae aroot rowth. Water-loesoils i evelope areas aresubject to reezi, whichca temporarily reucetheir permeability to zero.Te combie eect o

these chaes ca makeoverla ow a soil erosiocommoplace evets.

I sum, whe orests arecoverte to resietial,commercial, or iustrialla uses, hih ows icrease,low ows ecrease (or o tozero), a the respose timeto rai or sowmelt is muchmore rapi. Tese chaes i

streamow a water quality

larely occur because water

that oce owe throuh thelea litter a orest soils owows over compacte soilsa impervious suraces.Overla ow lifs a carriessoil particles, utriets, aother pollutats (e.., petwaste, motor oil, metals, etc.)owstream to public watersupply itakes, recreatioareas, a estuaries.Subsurace ow that ocetook ays or weeks (evemoths) i orests is replaceby overla ow that occursi miutes or hours. Tisreuces the cotact timewith plats, soil microbes,a oraic matter a theopportuity or whats lefo the orest lter to worko our behal. Covertio orest la to evelope

areas replaces a stormwatera pollutat sik with astormwater a pollutatsource. Tis is the two-eeswor o sprawl. Keep it ithe scabbar with commosese plai a orestcoservatio.

DITORIAL TEAMhelle Clemet, Brie Holme,

Ht

OnTRIBuTORsPal Barte, Brie Holme, Pal Ht,

e ne, Roger Paradi, Lye Richard,

d Thompo, natha Whale

Wh Fests pv ide The Bestptecti of Wate rescesAd pbic Heath By pAul K. BArTEn, pH.D.

Adapted from a 2006 article in New England Forests, New England Forestry Foundation

Dr. Barte i a AociateProeor o ForetReorce, uiverity oMaachett Amhert,www.oret-to-acet.org.

e sebago Lake Waterhed

w i pblihed by the

rtlad Water Ditrict.

Watershed News is printed withbased inks on 100% recycled paper.

Photo by Adam Mack

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3/8

Te Portla Water district commissioe a stuy ola uses i the Sebao Lake watershe. Aerial photosreveale that the Sebao Lake watershe was 81.5 percetoreste i 2001 a that 4 percet o the orest was lostto evelopmet betwee 1991 a 2001. At 81.5 percet

oreste, the Sebao Lake watershe is just above the level atwhich the authors o the Coecticut stuy saw chaes iwater quality. I the rate o evelopmet that occurre rom1991 to 2001 cotiues, we ca expect the oreste portioo the watershe to rop to 75 percet i 10 or 15 years the poit where the stuy ou oticeable eclies i waterquality.

A eamt I FrvrCosier placi your Sebao Lake watershe la ia coservatio easemet to esure that it will remaiuevelope, protecti the water quality o local water

resources a Sebao Lake oreeratios to come. o lear moreabout the beets o coservatioeasemets a PWd us available tohelp Sebao Lake watershe laowersacquire coservatio easemets, cotactus at [email protected].

Th Frt IS th FtrAccori to a recet report etitle Forests, Water aPeople, there is cocer or the uture o Sebao Lake. Tisstuy is the work o the US Forest Service a the Uiversityo Massachusetts at Amherst. Te watershe that provieswater to Sebao Lake a the Presumpscot River exists i aprecarious state. It is able to prouce very clea water toaybecause it is mostly oreste. Tis is importat because mayo us (oe i six Maie resiets) rely o Sebao Lake or

riki water. However, almost all o that orest, whichcleas our water, is privately owe a coul be evelopeito houses, stores, roas, etc. I this happes to a reatextet, it will show up i the quality o water i Sebao Lakeas well as the rivers a streams that ee the lake. You ca a lik to the ull report o our web site, www.pw.or.

Te US Forest Service report poits out that Maie woos aot just ejoyable a beautiul, they are a critical resourcethat provie a ecoloical beet or service to all o us.We all wi i our woos stay wooe, a we all will paya eormous price i they ot. Shoul Maie aopt laws,reulatios, a policies that make it more likely that thela stays wooe? Tat woul seemto be i all our best iterest. Butjust how to o so is a complicatequestio that shoul be aswereby cocere citizes a local astate policy makers.

COnInUEd FROM PAgE 1

COnInUEd FROM PAgE 1

Pal Ht i the evirometalervice maager at thePortlad Water Ditrict. He cabe reached at [email protected].

Brie Holme i a waterreorce pecialit at thePortlad Water Ditrict.she ca be reached [email protected].

Siver, P.A., A.M. Lott, E. Cash, J. Moss, and L.J. Marsicano. 1999. Century changes in Connecticut, U.S.A., lakes as inferredfrom siliceous algal remains and their relationships to land-use change. Limnology and Oceanography 44: 1928-1935

Photo by Jae Bopp Photo by Bill ad Pat Kachiki Photo by Jeae Macnevi Photo by Georg

3


4/8

heep Laurel or Lambkill

lmia angustifolia

ze: Grow 1 to 3 eet high with a

eater pread.

oliage: Evergree hrb with ble-gree,

iptical haped leave. Bright pik fower

oom i early mmer.

oil Conditions: Grow bet i moit,

gaic, cool, acidic oil bt ca tolerate a

riety o oil type.

ght: Preer ll to partial hade.

otes: A the ame gget, it i poioo

livetock.

ones: 1 - 6

it the sebago Lake Ecology Ceter to ee

ample o thi ad other ative plat!

Sai AcesItetis T lwelake This Fa O October 2, Sappi Fie Paper north America aouce that thisall the level o Sebao Lake will be lowere i accorace with theSebao Lake Level Maaemet Pla. Sappi operates the Eel Weirdam which cotrols the outlet o Sebao Lake.

Te Sebao Lake Level Maaemet Pla requires that the lakeoccasioally reach a level o at least oe a oe hal eet below theormal all levels to promote restoratio o beaches. Sappi will beiloweri the lake level i October a plas to reach this taret bythe e o november.

Sappi asks boaters who utilize Sebao Lake marias to cotact theirmaria to esure their boats will be remove prior to the low levelbei reache. I boat owers o ot take actio, it is possible thatsome larer boats will be strae o the lake.

For more iormatio, cotact om Howar with Sappi at 856-4286

or [email protected]

The 2010 Images of Sebago Lake Calendar will be available afterThanksgiving. The calendar features dramatic images of Sebago Lake from

amateur photographers who have captured the many moods of Maines

second largest lake.

A copy of Images of Sebago Lake 2010 can be obtained by visiting the

Sebago Lake Ecology Center in Standish or PWDs Portland ofces at 225

Douglass Street. Because supplies are very limited, visitors will be allowed

only one calendar. For more information, contact [email protected].

Its not too early to think about the 2011 calendar. Keep your camera ready;

Sebago Lake offers many opportunities for that perfect shot!

Images of Sebago Lake 2010

Calendar Will Be Available Soon

native

plant

spotlight

Photo by Beth K

4


5/8

Wrrid abt ri? Lar v ay tp t hlp yr

prprty tay pt.

As escribe i dr. Bartes article o pae 2, the layer o leaves, sticks, a other orestebris, kow as the litter layer or u layer, is a critical elemet o your propertysability to absorb a treat water a pollutio. Te u layer acts as a spoe,

absorbi lare amouts o water. Slow percolatio a microbial activity i the ulayer removes lake-polluti seimets a allows water to slowly iltrate ito therouwater, preveti erosio.

Touh the u layer ext to the lake caot leally be remove uer curretshorela zoi law, may shorerot property owers remove this layer years aoto clea up their yar, leavi bare soil or plati rass. Whe the u layer isremove, the expose soil ofe becomes compacte ue to the pouio precipitatio a oot trac. Compacte soil ca ot absorb a treatruo.

Althouh you may ot otice streams o ruo, sheet fow coul becausi your property to eroe. Sheet ow is a thi, cotiuous lm o

water that ows ow relatively smooth soil a is icult to see.Te best way to see i your property is experieci sheet ow erosio isto evaluate areas where the u layer has bee remove. Here are ve easysteps to ietiy a correct problem areas.

Fr a fr cltati ad rcmmdati hw t mak yr prprty

mr lak fridly, ctact at [email protected] r 774-5961 x3375.

Hws y Dff? By CHAD THoMpSon

1.Look for areas of

exposed, compacted

soil and rocks or

tree roots that were once

covered with soil but

now protrude from the

surface of the ground.

These are the areas of

greatest concern.

2.Identify areas of

traditional use such

as sitting areas

and footpaths. Consider

consolidating these areas

to only what is needed

for the use. Attractive and

functional options include

laying down mulch to

dene a sitting area and

bordering it with logs or

timbers. Dene paths with

mulch and plantings.

3.Identify areas

where the duff layer

can be restored

by simply ending the

practice of raking leaves

and removing small forest

debris. Allow the duff layer

and natural vegetation to

re-accumulate over time.

5.If a forest duff

in the bare area

is too unpleasa

for you to bear, rent a

chipper/mulcher from

your local rental centeeach fall. Simply mulc

the leaves and chip th

sticks and branches t

create your own natur

mulch, or spread at le

6 inches of Superhum

or other commercially

available erosion cont

mulch over the area.

4.Consider

planting the

area with native

groundcover plants such

as lowbush blueberry,

a low growth juniper,bearberry, or wintergreen.

To see some attractive

options, view the

Conservation Practices

for Homeowners Fact

Sheets at www.pwd.org/

news/publications.php

Chad Thompo i the orceprotectio coordiator at thePortlad Water Ditrict. He cabe reached at [email protected].

5


6/8

WHATS MAKInG WAVES ArounD SEBAGo lAKE?By roGEr pArADIS

ThInk SprIng

PWd will oce aai be

elli rai barrels i thepri o 2010. Rai barrelsre a reat way to make use roo ruo to water yourares, ioor plats, aaws. I you woul likeo be ae to the list toe cotacte whe etailsecome available, pleasemail [email protected].

permeable paverS:

a new addITIon aT

The Sebago lake

ecology cenTer

Looki or a attractive,lake-riely alterative topavemet or ravel? Visit theSebao Lake Ecoloy Ceterto see what permeable paverslook like istalle a learhow they work. StormwaterBrick, eerously oateby geest Lascape aMasory i Wiham, isthe ewest aitio to theEcoloy Ceters PerviousPathway. Te pavers keeppollute stormwater ruorom eteri our streamsa lakes by allowi 100%

iltratio. Visit www.eestcocrete.com to learmore about permeable pavers.

more pIke SurfacIng

In Sebago lakeS

regIon

norther Pike have bee

cauht i the Sebao LakeReio or the past severalyears. A 25 lb. pike was cauhtby a local aler o PatherRu this summer a maymore were reporte i thereio. Pike were itroucewithi the last te years aow appear to be thrivi.Tis ivasive species posesa threat to existi sheries.Alers are ecourae by

the departmet o IlaFisheries a Willie to catchas may pike as they ca aslo as they ot release ay.

are you an Ice

SeaSon enThuSIaST?

Beore we kow it, ice shiseaso will be here. SebaoLake is a source o rikiwater or early 200,000resiets a aythi lef othe ice i the witer will meltito the riki water supplyi the spri. Please help keepthe lake clea by carryiout all trash a equipmet,a use esiate restroomacilities.

look whaTS In STore

for The crooked

rIver!

Te America Forest

Fouatio (AFF), theWester Foothills La rusti norway, a their parterswere recetly aware a$500,000 rat by the USdepartmet o Ariculture topreserve orests that make upthe Crooke River watershe,iclui parts o naples,Wateror, greewoo,norway, Casco, Otisel,Harriso, Albay, Stoeham,

a Bethel.

new blog reflecTS

on Sebago lake

Sebao Reectios is a ewlyevelope blo writteby PWd evirometaleucatio cooriator, LyeRichar. She recetly posteher rst etry a ivites youto joi i o the coversatioabout Sebao. Subscribeolie at www.pw.or.

Roger Paradi i a water reorce pecialit at theWater Ditrict. He ca be reached at rparadi@pwd

Photo by Jame Drake

6


7/8

Te Portla Water district has see water clarity eclie

i Sebao Lake sice 1990. While this tre is iscourai,

Sebao Lake is ot aloe. Clarity patters throuhout Maie

suest there is a larer scale pheomeo. data collecte

across the state by certie Voluteer Lake Moitors

show statewie tres similar to those o Sebao Lake.

Uortuately, we o ot have scietically vali ata prior

to 1990, so a loer term evaluatio is icult.

Lakes aturally have ieret levels o clarity. A shallow,

weey lake is eerally less clear tha a eep, say

bottom lake, like Sebao. Water clarity ebbs a ows, like

most this aturally o. Huma evelopmet, climate

coitios, ecoloical iteractios a umerous other

actors ca aect clarity. data rom across Maie suest

the same eeral actors that occur i Sebao are occurri

throuhout the state.

sbag Lak ha a avrag

clarity f 10 mtr, whil

th avrag f all Mai lak

i 5 mtr.

12.0

Clarity of Sebago Lake vs. Maine LakesSM

11.4

5.3

5.7

5

5.8

5.1

12.2

88.7

11.0

10.0

9.0

8.0

1990

S

ebagoSecchi(meters)

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

5

5

5

5

5

4

4

11.8

By nATE WHAlEn

nate Whale i a water reorce pecialit at the Portlad Water Ditrict.He ca be reached at [email protected].

7


8/8

Wadr ad Wdr

Joi PWd evirometal eucators or iterpretive hikes o trails surroui theSebao Lake Ecoloy Ceter i Staish.

November 23January 25March 22

Hikes will ru 10:00 a.m. to oo. Hot chocolate will ollow!

Reistratio is REQUIRED a is ope to those ae 16 or oler.

Tere is a $5.00 reistratio ee that will cotribute to a eort to Aopt-A-Loo rom theBiodiversity Research Istitute i gorham, Maie. Scholarships are available.

natr KidJoi PWd evirometal eucators at the Sebao Lake Ecoloy Ceter or a theme hike a craf activity!

Frozen ForestDecember 29December 30

Winter WoodsFebruary 16February 18

Signs of SpringApril 20April 22

Sessios will ru rom 9:00 a.m. to oo.

Sessios are ope to 4th-6th raers. Each o the three hikes will occur twice. Reistratio is REQUIRED a roupsize is limite to 10 kis. A $5.00 reistratio ee iclues a sack a all craf materials a will cotribute to a eortto Aopt-A-Loo rom the Biodiversity Research Istitute i gorham, Maie. Scholarships are available.

To regiter, or or more iormatio, pleae cotact:

[email protected] | 207. 774.5961 x 3319

s e r i e s

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Fall 2009 Sebago Lake Watershed Newsletter

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