Watershed residents and business owners on and around North Pond from the towns of Rome, Mercer and Smithfield are invited to attend a public meeting to learn more about the preliminary results of a two-year study to determine why North Pond has been turning green every summer since 2018, and what actions are needed to restore water quality.
The meeting has been moved from the Rome location to the Smithfield Town Office at 926 Village Road in Smithfield. It will be held from 6:30-8:30 p.m. Monday, July 24. The meeting will be accessible through Zoom as well for anyone unable to attend in person. Zoom link is https://www.northpondmaine.org/
The meeting will include a panel of scientists and watershed managers that have been collaborating on the project since early 2022 including Dr. Danielle Wain and Charlie Baeder from 7 Lakes Alliance, Jennifer Jespersen from Ecological Instincts, and Dr. Ken Wagner of Water Resource Services, according to a news release from Jespersen.
There will be 30 minutes set aside at the end of the meeting for attendees to ask questions about the recommendations and to provide input on the 10-year Watershed-Based Management Plan that will be released later this year. Recommendations will focus on actions that can be taken to reduce the amount of phosphorus in the lake in order to prevent algal blooms from returning. Management considerations will focus on addressing runoff from watershed sources such as roads, driveways, and camps as well as addressing phosphorus in the lake sediments.
The North Pond Watershed-Based Management Plan project is funded in-part by the US Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act. Project partners include the Kennebec County SWCD, North Pond Association, 7 Lakes Alliance, Colby College, Towns of Smithfield, Rome, and Mercer, KVCOG, Somerset County SWCD, USDA/Natural Resources Conservation Service, Maine DEP, Ecological Instincts, and Water Resource Services.
For more information visit northpondmaine.org.
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