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“to protect and enhance Maine's soil and water resources by providing educational programs, conservation information and technical assistance to municipalities, schools, landowners and residents of Kennebec County." |
Pleasant Pond NPS 319 Project Phase ISummary: Starting in the spring of 2006 the District started a Phase One of a two-year water quality improvement project in the Pleasant Pond watershed.
WATERSHED INFORMATION: Pleasant Pond is an approximately 5-mile long pond that flows into Cobbossee Stream near the confluence with the Kennebec River. The approximately 15,000-acre (24 square mile) watershed is located mainly within Litchfield and Richmond, with a small portion in Bowdoin and Bowdoinham. The project area would extend from the southern end of Pleasant Pond to the confluence of the Pond with Cobbossee Stream. A tributary on the west shore of the pond - Potters Brook (a 303d-listed stream) is also included. The pond itself is relatively shallow, with a mean depth of 7 feet. Water level of Pleasant Pond is controlled by the New Mills Dam, owned by the municipalities of Gardiner, Litchfield and Richmond and operated by Ridgewood Renewable Power (although the dam generates no power). The shore of Pleasant Pond is relatively densely populated. There are 166 camps around the 9-mile shoreline; of these, 40% or more are year-round dwellings. Population growth is expected to be between 10 and 12% in the four towns in the next ten years. While the portion of the watershed that is developed is presently small (about 15% of the watershed), it is concentrated on the shoreline. The number of active farms has decreased in recent years. Approximately 7% of the watershed area is in agricultural production. Commercial forestry is not a significant activity in the watershed. Pleasant Pond has high resource value in terms of public access and recreational fisheries. There is a state park on the shores of the pond and two boat launches. Public access to Pleasant Pond is via a public beach at Peacock Beach State Park and the two public boat launches on Thorofare Road in Litchfield. A commercial campground on the east shore provides access to paying visitors. The pond has high resource value for sport fishing and is habitat for migratory species - alewives and eels. The Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is stocking Pleasant Pond with adult alewives and studying outmigration of juvenile alewives as well as eel migration. The DMR is working with the dam operators on the Cobbossee to improve fish passage to and from Pleasant Pond. There has been an ongoing involvement of the towns with land in the watershed. Attention to Pleasant Pond and water quality reached a high point a few years back when the Gardiner Water District (the former owner) considered removing the outlet dam. The plans to remove the dam that maintains Pleasant Pond, Upper Pleasant or Mud Pond and the slack water of Cobbossee Stream forced the towns and the people who lived along and used the stream, pond and its shores to review its value. The towns determined that the impact on property values and the loss of the stream and pond’s recreational resources would be a substantial loss to the towns and their citizens. The towns bought the dam from the Gardiner Water District. This threat of dam removal served as the impetus for the Four Towns Watershed Association to organize and remain active in decisions affecting the water quality. They currently work to fund the maintenance of the dam which creates the impoundment. Since that time they have also worked on issues of shoreland erosion control, the management of the boat launch ramps, and the recent identification of Eurasion Milfoil in the pond. That Association has worked, and continues to work, with municipal officials, DEP, the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and the Maine Department of Agriculture regarding the impact of agricultural activity in the watershed and its impact on water quality. They have an ongoing working relationship with the Cobbossee Watershed District and Friends of the Cobbossee and have used those resources over the past few years to address issues of water quality and erosion in their watershed. There is a well-established water quality monitoring program for the last several decades, organized by Cobbossee Watershed District, with the help of volunteers. The Kennebec SWCD maintains working relationships with all of these parties and anticipates using those relationships to coordinate action in the watershed to improve the water quality of Pleasant Pond and establish methods for ongoing water quality enhancement. Three of the four watershed towns - Litchfield, Richmond, Bowdoinham - have adopted Comprehensive Plans consistent with the State Planning Office. The Town of Bowdoin has a draft Comprehensive Plan as of February 2005. The draft makes note of Pleasant Pond as a waterbody most at risk and subject to the Stormwater Management Law. The draft comprehensive plan also includes a road inventory, an assessment of road maintenance and the recommendation that a formal maintenance plan be developed. PROBLEM/NEED: Pleasant Pond does not meet the State of Maine's Great Pond water quality standards (GPA standards) for lakes and ponds. The indication of non-attainment is the high concentration of phosphorus and re-occurring algal blooms for the past 20 years and low transparency readings. Pleasant Pond is also on the Nonpoint Source Priority Watersheds List because of significant threat to water quality, high resource value, likelihood of restoring water quality and degree of local support. The pond covers a relatively small area and has a high flushing rate (approaching that of a free-moving stream), which increases the probability that it will respond relatively quickly to a nutrient abatement program. Shoreline survey data and road survey data combined indicate that there would be good return on sediment reduction from both shoreline buffer work and road repair for Non-Point Source (NPS) erosion, sedimentation and phosphorus abatement. Because shoreline properties are thought to contribute a relatively small portion of the phosphorus load, the focus will be on road and culvert work. Agricultural sources are being dealt with through local NRCS programs. Although the phosphorus loading (TMDL) model reports a 39% contribution from agriculture, the watershed is relatively passive in terms of farming. A number of unmanaged hayfields are in the direct watershed. Maine IF&W manages the pond as a warm-water fishery. The pond is noted as an excellent fishing destination for large-mouth bass and chain pickerel. The growth of invasive variable-leaf milfoil is having an impact on other game species. This project is intended to help restore the water quality of Pleasant Pond, which does not attain Maine water quality standards because of algal blooms. The proposed project would compliment existing NRCS work in agricultural practices with treatment of non-agricultural NPS sources, mainly public and private roads. The estimated phosphorus reduction from this project is between 30 and 40 kg/year, which is half of the reduction goal for non-agricultural development in the watershed. The degree of success at treating NPS sites with appropriate BMPs will be one measure of success. At least 20 NPS sites will be treated with BMPs. A summary of NPS sites fixed (site name; problem; solution; cost) will be attached to the Final Project Report. Sediment and phosphorus reduction (tons and lbs/year) will be estimated annually for NPS sites treated with BMPs. The overall results will be described in a report of pollutants controlled provided annually. The Final Project Report will include a comparison summary of the water quality conditions (water clarity and/or phosphorus; positive, negative or stable trend) of the water bodies before and upon completion of the project. ---------------------------------- The spring of 2008 will mark the completion of a two-year water quality improvement project in the Pleasant Pond Watershed. If you want to review the final report, click here. Some work was not completed before the winter of 2007-08.
Phone #: 207-622-7847 x 3 Email: josh@kcswcd.org Web address: www.kcswcd.org
Kennebec SWCD 21 Enterprise Drive; Suite #1 Augusta, Maine 04330 Phone #: 207-622-7847 x 3 Email: john@kcswcd.org
Project Duration: thru the early Spring 2008
Funding Source: Clean Water Act Section 319 (administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection)
Click here to view a watershed map for this project. Partners and other local sources of information for the Pleasant Pond Watershed: ü Four Towns Watershed Association (FTWA) ü Town of Litchfield ü Town of Richmond ü Friends of the Cobbossee ü Cobbossee Watershed District ü Andy Valley Soil & Water Conservation District |
