August 2026 Newsletter from the 30 Mile River Watershed Association

Photo: Paddle Trek participants crossing Echo Lake.

Exciting new upgrades!

Tower Road culvert replacement completed

After nearly three years of planning, a key stream crossing near Parker Pond got a major culvert upgrade last week!

The Tower Road stream crossing, located at the north end of Parker Pond and a half mile northwest of the boat launch, was identified in 2024 by the Town of Vienna and 30 Mile as a safety, economic, and environmental concern.

In recent years, major storms have repeatedly washed out and damaged roads throughout our watershed, leading to expensive repairs and travel disruptions. In May and December 2023, Tower Road was overtopped due to this undersized culvert. From the major washouts that ensued, an estimated 92 tons of sediment and 49 pounds of phosphorus washed into Parker Pond during these two major storm events. 

The original 3-ft diameter culvert was replaced with a 10-ft pipe-arch. This new crossing was engineered to withstand 100-year storm events and also meets the Stream Smart requirements for habitat connectivity. 

Why was this done? 

Public Safety 

• Ensures emergency vehicle access
• Prevents delayed response time 

Lake Health 

• Reduces erosion into the stream and decreases the threat of algae blooms to Parker Pond 
• Keeps the tax burden from shifting away from shoreline property owners and onto others in the town 

Cost to repair 

• The two 2023 storms alone cost the Town over $270,000 in emergency repairs to crossings
• This and other culvert upgrades will save the town hundreds of thousands of dollars in future fixes



This culvert is the first of four large upgrades planned for Vienna. The town has received a $349,000 grant from FEMA for the Kimball Pond Road crossing, and has two grant proposals under review for the Trask and Jesse Ladd Road crossings (that were also identified as crossings of concern in 2024). 

Funding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The funding is administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA. EPA does not endorse any commercial products or services mentioned

Photos (top to bottom, L-R): Land Use Coordinator, Ellie, inside the new culvert; flooding during the December 2023 storm event; the culvert installation process; the 3-ft perched culvert before replacement; the new 10-ft pipe arch.

Question of the month:

What should I do when I see something concerning

in the water?

30 Mile staff monitor lakes and ponds every two weeks. However, conditions can change rapidly, and it can be helpful to have additional observations of what you are seeing.

Become familiar with what’s commonly found in the water. There are many things that make up a lake’s ecosystem. Sometimes things we see are concerning, but other times they are a natural part of a healthy lake.

Have you seen bubbles, foam, or cotton candy-like clouds? Explore A Field Guide to Aquatic Phenomena and our article “What’s that stuff in the water?” to see if you can identify what you are observing.

Send in photos and questions. We’re here to be a resource for you. If you’d like another set of eyes to help determine if what you’re seeing is typical or not, send photos, locations, and descriptions to sara@30mileriver.org.

If you suspect a potential algal bloom, contact sara@30mileriver.org and do the following:

• Take photos. Be sure to record the time, date, location, and other observations (smell, size of the algae area, colors, etc.).
• Submit a report. The Maine DEP has a bloom reporting dashboard. You can submit potential blooms for their review here.
• Take a Jar Test. All you need is a clear, pint to quart sized jar to collect a sample of the suspect algae. By letting it sit undisturbed overnight, you can determine if it is possibly cyanobacteria by the way it settles in the jar. Follow the complete instructions here.

Thank you for keeping a close eye on our lakes and ponds. Letting us know what you’re seeing helps us respond quickly and efficiently.

Photo: Metaphyton, a free-floating, filamentous algae by Betsy Clark.

You're Invited: Septic Social Tomorrow!

Now Hiring! Operations and Finance Coordinator



We are seeking applicants for the role of Operations & Finance Coordinator to provide essential administrative, financial, and human resources support to ensure the smooth day-to-day functioning of the organization. This position is available as either part-time or full-time and based in our office in Mount Vernon.

If you’re part of an Invasive Plant Patrol (IPP) team and haven’t completed the survey of your shoreline sector, now is the time to do it! As the days get shorter and temperatures get cooler, plants begin to transition to their over-wintering strategies. Most aquatic plants are perennials, meaning they survive the winter by dying back to their roots or rhizomes, where they store energy for growth the following spring. As a result, surveying for and identifying these plants becomes difficult or impossible later in the fall. 

Need help identifying a plant? Contact your lake’s IPP Coordinator first, and if needed, Silas at silas@30mileriver.org/(207) 430-1515 to arrange a time for drop-off at our office in Mount Vernon for identification.

Androscoggin Lake Updates

Monitoring Buoy: Please do not approach the buoy. This buoy is anchored and its mooring line contains sensors that can be damaged if snagged.  

On August 5th, we deployed a continuous monitoring buoy at the deep hole monitoring station of the lake. It collects data around the clock at the surface and bottom of the lake. This buoy will not replace our bi-weekly monitoring and sampling efforts, but will provide additional data, notifying us exactly when changes in the lake occur. It will also predict when and where toxins could be present and concentrating along shorelines, based on wind and wave information. This buoy is contracted by Subtidal.

On August 14th, the buoy was removed due to malfunctions. A new buoy will be installed tomorrow. For updates on when the buoy’s dashboard will be available and for additional details relating to this work, visit the Androscoggin Bloom page.

Photo: Deploying the buoy on Androscoggin Lake.

Share your photos for a chance to win!

Do you enjoy taking photos on the lakes, ponds, and streams that make up the 30 Mile River Watershed? 

Share your favorites with us by September 30th for a chance to win in our Annual Photo Contest!

The categories: Lovable Loons, Spectacular Scenes, and Watershed Wildlife (includes fish too, but not loons). 

Entries may also be featured in reports, social media content, and merchandise.

Photo: Juvenile Wood Duck by Pamela Santin.

Sharing our successes beyond our watershed

Last month, 30 Mile hosted the Maine Inland Flooding Inter-agency Working Group for them to see first-hand how communities are responding to the impacts of severe weather events. The group formed in 2024 and is composed of hydrologists, meteorologists, hazard mitigation specialists, planners, state and federal resilience policy professionals, non-profits, and engineering consultants. Convenings are geared toward sharing research and innovations in inland flooding, modeling, and identifying potential avenues for partnerships. 

During a morning of presentations and site visits, we covered local flooding issues, town partnerships, funding barriers, project prioritization, and opportunities for collaboration and tool development. Our local examples showed what 30 Mile has been doing to improve road infrastructure to control erosion, protect water quality, enhance public safety, and maximize grant opportunities for small towns within the watershed. Our multi-stop field trip included visits to two high-priority stream crossing sites planned for large upgrades (including the now complete Tower Rd site). We wrapped up at the Sandy River Rd stream crossing in Chesterville, a project we completed in 2020 after nine years of planning, engineering, applying for grants, and town collaboration, which demonstrated the long timelines and persistence that come with many of these large upgrades. 

30 Mile was honored to host this group to share our experiences and learn from their expertise. We look forward to exploring potential solutions together to ensure our towns and their infrastructure will be able to withstand future large weather events.

Water Quality and Aquatic Plant Workshop

at Camp Bearnstow

As part of Camp Bearnstow’s 80-year anniversary celebration, our staff led a workshop focused on water quality and aquatic plants. Participants spent time on Parker Pond, learning about how water quality is monitored–including taking their own Secchi disk (water clarity) readings. Participants also spent time learning how to identify aquatic plants and potential invasives by getting hands-on practice with live plants.

Photo: Sara leading a water quality

monitoring demonstration (by Hailey Frank).

Annual Paddle Trek

Following the flow through our watershed

Thank you to all participants and volunteers who joined us for our 17th annual Paddle Trek held on July 25th. We look forward to next year!

Support 30 Mile! Your gift today will make a difference in protecting our lakes from phosphorus pollution, invasive species, and other threats. Find the giving level that works for you.

www.30mileriver.org

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