Happy National Drinking Water Week! We often take for granted the reliable delivery of clean water to our homes, and this week is an important time to recognize all the work that goes into protecting and providing that resource to our communities.

We are incredibly lucky to have such a high-quality drinking water source in Lake Auburn, one of fewer than 50 drinking water sources across the United States to have a filtration waiver. This distinction is only possible because of continued care for our watershed, round-the-clock testing of our water, and layers of protections that help prevent pollution.  

Because Lake Auburn is a shared resource, it takes shared effort to keep it clean. Everyone in the community plays a role, and simple actions can make a big difference. Picking up and properly disposing of pet waste, maintaining septic systems so they function effectively, and minimizing runoff from lawns and driveways can all help prevent pollutants from reaching the lake. Your actions will impact the water quality of Lake Auburn – you get to choose whether that impact is positive or negative.  

LAWPC conducted a dog waste awareness campaign last week in honor of Drinking Water Week. Staff walked along the south side of Whitman Spring Road Trail, flagging every dog waste pile left along the trail edges. We flagged 183 piles of dog waste, and had to stop at the ¼ mile mark because we were almost out of flags. We also posted a series of 17 signs along the trail, explaining what the flags were marking and describing the public health impacts that dog waste has on the drinking water supply.  

A week after we flagged, we were joined by some intrepid volunteers to pick up and properly dispose of all that poop. We collected over five gallons of poop, and cleaned up over 200 piles of waste. It was a Herculean task, and we want to extend a huge thank you to our volunteers for their willingness to donate their time and energy to helping keep Lake Auburn clean! 

We know that Whitman Spring Road Trail is beloved by many dog-walkers in the community. It also borders Lake Auburn, and dog waste left alongside the trail will make its way into the water. In addition to the many streams that cross the road via culverts, overland runoff after a rain event can shift both large piles of waste and microscopic pathogens and pollutants closer to the water. We observed this when returning to the site a week after flagging – there had been a rain event in the intervening week, and we noticed that many of the poop piles had shifted away from the flags and toward the lake because of this. 

Lake Auburn is an unfiltered drinking water supply, and the nutrients and pathogens from all those feces pose a direct threat to the drinking water. If you have ever spent time in Auburn or Lewiston – going to work or school, visiting a restaurant or brewery, attending an event, or visiting a friend – you have had water from Lake Auburn. We all use this important resource, and it is a shared responsibility to keep it clean.  

Just like those volunteers, your actions also impact the quality of the drinking water. Taking the extra moment to pick up your dog's waste and dispose of it in the trash can located at the trailhead. Bringing a couple of extra bags with you (there are complimentary bags at the trailhead as well) to hand out to other dog walkers. Pointing Lake Auburn out to other trail users and explaining the threat that dog waste poses to this incredible natural resource. Your actions matter, and our public drinking water depends on you. 

Maine has many loved and beautiful wildlife ICONS! More than a few have graced our automotive license plates, including lobster, chickadees, moose, and my favorite: the loon! 

There's a connection, and not always a good one, between our loons and the 14 collection tubes around Lake Auburn and the Basin. These tubes are offered by the AWSD for fishermen to safely dispose of their tangled monofilament fishing line. Discarded line, when left on the shore or in the water can prove deadly to loons and other wildlife. 

On July 27, 2019, a loon was found hopelessly tangled in a massive snarl of old fishing line. I was able to free this beautiful bird, un-injured. Four years later the same loon, or perhaps its mate, was spotted with a colorful fishing lure firmly attached to the delicate web of its right foot. Fortunately, wildlife biologists from the Biodiversity Research Institute answered the call and were able to capture the two adults, remove the lure, and band both for future identification. 

This single pair of loons have been documented on the Basin every year since 2007 to the delight of watershed volunteers and fishermen. Since 2013 local fishermen have used the tubes around Lake Auburn and the Basin to help minimize the danger to this iconic bird and other wildlife. 

Volunteers help to keep the tubes clean and offer valuable support to the wildlife around the watershed, especially my favorite icon, the Loons of the Basin.

Article and photos by Rob Crosby, LAWPC volunteer and loon whisperer

We learned a ton about tree identification at our recent nature walk on the Tot Lot Trail! Maine Master Naturalists Samaa Abdurraqib and Josie Quintrell gave tips for identification based on bark, branching, and even smell! We also came upon some coyote scat, and learned how to approximate the age of pine saplings. A huge thank you to all who attended, and to Samaa and Josie for guiding us!