|
WATERSHED SURVEY DATE IS SATURDAY APRIL 25th
As approved by the Echo Lake Association membership at the 2024 and 2025 Annual Meetings, the ELA is conducting a Watershed Survey this year, the first since 2016.
April 25th was chosen as surveys are best conducted in early spring before vegetation grows in, which can obscure or hide sources of erosion and runoff. It was also a date when the DEP could help us.
The Survey will be coordinated in conjunction with the 30 Mile River Watershed Association with the assistance of Maine DEP technical experts and other volunteers, who will conduct the survey throughout the Echo Lake and Taylor Pond watersheds to identify potential sources of erosion and polluted runoff.
What is a Watershed?
A watershed is the total area of land that drains into the lake. Watersheds drain (or “shed”) water into lakes via streams or ditches, directly over the ground surface via roadways and development, or through groundwater.
Everything that happens in our watershed has the potential to impact the health of the lake, for better or for worse. The Echo Lake and Taylor Pond watersheds cover approximately 7.5 square miles in the towns of Fayette, Mount Vernon, and Readfield, with 400+ properties (most away from the shoreline).
What is a Watershed Survey?
Locally-led watershed surveys such as ours have been used successfully for decades throughout Maine to document threats to water quality. During a survey, trained volunteers work alongside technical leaders to survey the watershed by foot and by car, to identify sources of erosion and polluted stormwater runoff.
Data gathered during the survey will give us a better understanding of the Echo/Taylor watershed condition and give us information needed to provide solutions for landowners and potentially apply for grant funding to fix priority problems.
Why do a Watershed Survey?
Echo Lake is on Threatened List
Echo Lake is currently listed on the Maine DEP’s Threatened and Impaired Watersheds List, and is listed as sensitive due to sediment chemistry. Echo’s sediment chemistry shows it is vulnerable to the release of sediment-bound phosphorus, or "internal phosphorus loading". When additional phosphorus gets added from external sources, such as eroding shorelines and culvert crossings, it can lead to algal blooms.
Identifying Erosion and Sediment Sources
A survey helps identify sources of pollution like shoreline erosion, faulty culverts, construction sites, septic systems and road salts. These are just a few examples of what can deliver sediment into the lake, which reduces clarity, smothers fish habitats and fuels harmful cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). A survey pinpoints where these nutrients are coming from so they can be reduced at the source.
Informing Land Use Planning
Survey data helps make informed decisions about infrastructure upgrades, watershed development, and conservation efforts. Protecting the watershed before problems arise rather than reacting to them will save the Association and local towns a great deal of money.
Engaging the Community
The survey involves lakeshore property owners and neighboring landowners, raising awareness about how their everyday actions (shoreline vegetation, septic maintenance, lawn and driveway care, etc) can affect lake health.
Aquiring Financial Assistance
Completing a watershed survey is the first step needed to be eligible for grant funding from the Clean Water Act. Once the data is collected and a Watershed Based Management Plan is written, Echo Lake would be eligible for cost-sharing assistance based on the identified sites of erosion.
| 
