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Water Quality Monitoring Program

BEACH Act
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions intended to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about one-third that amount has been authorized each year since the program's inception. For 2012, the total fund available for BEACH Act grants is $9.8 million. Funding beyond 2012 is in jeopardy, since EPA's budget request for this program in FY2013 is ZERO. If available, funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. Maine is eligible for a $252,000 grant in 2012.

Portions of the following discussion were taken from NRDC's report Testing the Waters, June 2011.

There are more than 30 miles of public-access beaches stretching along Maine’s Atlantic waters, including bays, sounds, and estuaries. The coastal beach water quality monitoring program, Maine Healthy Beaches (MHB), is managed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and coordinated by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension/Maine Sea Grant. Also see here.

The MHB program provides sophisticated resources and assistance to towns and state parks experiencing poor beachwater quality. For example, because of elevated levels of enterococcus bacteria at Laite Beach and Camden Yacht Club Recreation Area, supplemental funding was obtained from the US EPA to conduct a boater’s education campaign and to do additional monitoring in order to identify pollution sources. As a part of this effort, 106 samples were analyzed for enterococcus and an additional 47 samples were analyzed for optical brighteners (laundry detergent additives that, together with elevated fecal indicator bacteria, indicate the presence of human sewage). This monitoring revealed bacterial contributions from storm drain outfalls in the Megunticook River and Rock Brook, from the Camden Wastewater Treatment Facility, and from the large waterfowl population residing in the Camden inner harbor. As a result of the effort, the town of Camden identified two illicit sewage cross-connections to the storm drainage network. A separate investigation in the Rock Brook watershed, led by DEP staff, identified a broken sewer line.

Boater education activities were aimed at convincing boat owners to empty their sewage holding tanks into Camden’s pump-out boat instead of emptying them into the ocean. The campaign included developing and distributing education and outreach materials, giving public presentations, and surveying Camden’s mooring and slip permit holders. In 2010, 4,000 gallons more sewage was pumped into the pump-out boat than in 2009, though the values in 2009 may have been unusually low due to poor weather conditions and low boat traffic. An increase of 2,000 gallons was pumped into the pump-out boat in 2010 compared with 2008; because both seasons had similar weather and boat traffic, the additional capture in 2010 reflects well on the campaign.

In 2010, MHB continued to support intensified monitoring in the Cape Neddick River watershed in an effort to identify sources of beachwater contamination at Cape Neddick Beach. MHB also assisted the town of York in developing a work plan to find and fix sources of pollution impacting the beach. The plan includes conducting sanitary surveys, enforcing the town’s septic tank pump-out ordinance, and providing restroom facilities at the beach.

Additional monitoring conducted by MHB revealed that Lincolnville Beach’s elevated levels of bacterial pollution are likely caused by malfunctioning septic systems, wildlife, and illicit connections to the storm drainage network along U.S. Route 1. This area is historically a tidal wetland; it has unsuitable soils and limited space for septic systems, and one restaurant’s septic system is underwater when tides are especially high. Local businesses must limit the number of patrons and hours of operation because of the lack of adequate wastewater disposal options. The town has paid for engineers to plan and design additional wastewater infrastructure that would allow for elimination of septic tanks, but there is currently no money to support construction.

Special monitoring was conducted in 2010 to help identify sources of contamination at many other beaches in Maine, including the Ducktrap Recreation Area and Higgins Beach, which are under permanent swimming advisories; Goodies Beach, Popham Beach, Old Orchard Beach–Ocean Park, Kinney Shores, Gooches Beach, Ogunquit beaches, Sea Point Beach, and three beaches in southern Maine.

As of 2010, the beach at the mouth of Ducktrap River is no longer participating in the MHB program as it lacks adequate public parking and access and has low usage. The town has posted it with a permanent swimming advisory and is not promoting it as a swimming area.

The Maine Healthy Beaches program routinely cooperates with a number of agencies. Beach location data developed through the Maine Healthy Beaches program are available through the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Bacteria and environmental data collected through the Healthy Beaches initiative is shared with several departments within the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, including Maine’s Statewide Bacteria TMDL. The Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Maine Healthy Beaches program frequently share shoreline monitoring data and sanitary survey results. Other data users include Surfrider Foundation and various watershed associations. The data are also used to determine what areas need special studies and sanitary surveys. The data have been used by the Maine Geological Survey in conjunction with Acoustic Doppler Profiling to determine the fate and transport of contaminants in priority areas.

Monitoring

Sampling Practices: The monitoring season lasts approximately three months, from Memorial Day through Labor Day.

Monitoring is extended to include spring wet-weather monitoring and special studies for targeted areas. Monitoring coastal water quality for swimming and other water-contact usage is the responsibility of local jurisdictions, municipalities, or state parks and is not mandated by state law. Samples are taken in 2-3 feet of water. MHB is a voluntary program, and in order to participate, a beach must have a beach management entity that can meet the program’s protocols and conditions.

Monitoring sites for each beach are selected at places where people swim, at sources of freshwater inputs to the beach, and near other high-risk features including sewage treatment plant outfalls, and wildlife. Once a beach is closed or placed under advisory, MHB recommends that the monitoring frequency increase until the beach is reopened. However, not all localities have the ability to conduct increased monitoring, and as a result the beaches in these towns cannot be reopened until the next routine sample is analyzed.

For areas experiencing chronic bacterial pollution, additional monitoring sites are added throughout the watershed, and/or wet-weather monitoring is conducted to help determine the sources of pollution. Many times, monitoring for special studies conducted by MHB includes analysis of optical brighteners. Optical brighteners are fluorescent white dyes that are added to laundry soaps, detergents, paper products, and textiles that make materials appear whiter. Because household plumbing systems mix effluent from washing machines and toilets together, optical brighteners are found in human sewage in septic systems and wastewater treatment plants. When concentrations of optical brighters are greater than 200 μg/L in water with elevated fecal indicator bacteria levels, human sources of fecal contamination are suspected.

Closings and Advisories

Standards and Procedures: Both closings and advisories are issued in Maine, but closings are rare and occur only when beaches experience chronic high bacteria levels or known safety or public health threats, and in municipalities where closing ordinances are in place. When determining whether to recommend a beach advisory, MHB applies a singlesample standard for enterococcus of 104 MPN/100 ml.

Results of all monitoring samples are transmitted to the MHB database, and automatic e-mail alerts are issued to beach managers, local officials, and other entities as soon as an exceedance is found. Advisories are not issued solely on the basis of monitoring results. The decision to post a beach is made by the local beach manager (in partnership with MHB staff), who considers factors including bacteria levels, environmental conditions, risk of pollution, and history of high bacteria levels. Each decision is made on a case-by-case basis. Depending on the conditions, MHB will recommend an advisory or closing when the standards are exceeded, and the decision to post an advisory or closing for a beach is the responsibility of the town or state park. The only beach managers who automatically post an advisory or closing after one sample exceeds standards are the state park beach managers for Popham, Ferry (Saco), Kettle Cove, Crescent State Park, Reid-East, Lagoon, and Half Mile beaches. For areas with historically good water quality and a low risk of pollution, an advisory may not be posted until resample results are available. Scarborough Beach is a state park beach but is privately managed, and advisories at this beach may not be issued until resampling confirms an exceedance. Whether to resample before issuing an advisory also depends on the magnitude of the exceedance and knowledge of a pollution event, if any. MHB staff follow up after each exceedance to ensure that state protocols were followed correctly and in a timely manner.

The program recommends that precautionary rainfall advisories be posted at urban beaches with a history of elevated bacteria levels and stormwater issues. There are a few communities in Maine that, depending on conditions, may post an advisory after a specified amount of rainfall. Local officials are notified when there is a known sewage spill.

Other Monitoring Programs

The Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) is the administrator of the National Shellfish Sanitation Program in Maine. The Maine DMR and volunteers perform routine monitoring of fecal coliform bacteria at shellfish areas.

In Maine, several programs include toxics monitoring for adverse impacts in the marine environment: the Marine Environmental Monitoring Program (which includes the monitoring activities of the Surface Water Ambient Toxics Program), the Dioxin Monitoring Program, Casco Bay Estuary Project, and Gulfwatch (sponsored by the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment). These programs monitor for the presence of toxins in the environment (water, sediment, and/or air) and in animals (tissues, blood, feathers), since some contaminants can be accumulated in animals to higher levels than the environmental concentrations.

Maine considers its monitoring program for harmful algal blooms (commonly referred to as "red tides") to be one of the most rigorous and effective biotoxin monitoring programs in the world. An observer network of volunteers monitors for algae cells in the water column as an early warning indication system. Also, the Marine Biotoxin Monitoring Program collects data and makes closure decisions. This program is for sites affecting marine resources and in particular shellfish, and the Department of Marine Resources maintains a database for both the voluntary and the regulatory programs. Beach advisories in Maine are not issued based on harmful algal bloom data.

The 2009 red tide caused a near-complete closure of shellfish harvesting in the state of Maine in early July. Atlantic coastal waters of New Hampshire and much of the north coast of Massachusetts were also closed to harvesting. Bangor Daily News published Preventing red tide poisoning in response to this incident. In November 2008 the red tide conditions that had closed local shellfishing beds in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts between April and July 2008 were declared an official disaster by the U.S. Department of Commerce, opening the way for local shellfishermen to receive federal financial assistance. The historic red tide season of 2005 resulted in $23 million in lost shellfish sales in Massachusetts and Maine alone.

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection's (DEP) Bureau of Land and Water Quality Website provides some information on coastal water quality.

The Northern New England Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has installed pet waste disposal stations at numerous southern Maine beaches and has developed a monitoring site at a public beach with a volunteer based regional lab in southern Maine.

Some local groups have developed 'state of the environment' reports for areas within the Gulf of Maine — including the Casco Bay Estuary Program, New Hampshire Estuary Project (NHEP) and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick. The NHEP, part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary Program, has produced the State of the Estuaries 2003 report. The report details 12 environmental indicators tracked by NHEP, such as bacteria levels, nitrogen concentrations, abundance of shellfish and land use in the coastal watershed. The report includes management goals, explanations of supporting data and ongoing efforts to achieve management goals.

Water Quality Contact

Keri Lindberg
University of Maine Cooperative Extension
377 Manktown Road
Waldoboro, ME 04572
Tel: 207-832-0343
Email: keri.lindberg@maine.edu

Beach Closures

Through the Healthy Beach Program, the state has developed a unified coastal water quality monitoring program at coastal beaches. The protocol includes a monitoring and notification process that will provide comparable data resulting in a cohesive program to ensure the public safety at the coastal beaches.

Maine uses a "Risk Assessment Matrix" to determine the potential human health risk in each case, considering water test results, location, environmental impacts from nearby waste disposal, storm water runoff, public restroom facilities, the presence of dogs or wildlife on the beach, beach usage statistics and a history of previous closings or contamination.

NRDC reported:

Number of Closings and Advisories: Total closing/advisory days for 71 events lasting six consecutive weeks or less decreased 17%, to 207 days in 2010 from 250 days in 2009. For prior years, there were 170 closing/advisory days in 2008, 176 days in 2007, 134 days in 2006, and 92 days in 2005. In addition, there were no extended and 2 permanent events (730 days) in 2010. Extended events are those in effect more than six weeks but not more than 13 consecutive weeks; permanent events are in effect for more than 13 consecutive weeks. All closing and advisory days in 2010 were due to monitoring that revealed elevated bacteria levels.

Beach Closure Data

Year	Temporary∗∗	Permanent
2010	207	2
2009	250	0
2008	174	0
2007	176	0
2006	134	0
2005	92	0
2004	56	0
2003	0	0
2002	5∗	0
2001	15∗	0
2000	13∗	0

Note: Both EPA and MHBP use the term "Action Days" to include both advisories and closures.
Sources: NRDC, 2011; Maine Healthy Beaches, 2004, 2010
∗ Closings/advisories may have exceeded this number, due to lack of reporting some jurisdictions.
∗∗ The Maine Healthy Beaches Program began in 2002 with only 2 beaches monitored. Closures are rarely issued. The program uses advisories or as EPA states "beach action days."

NRDC reported:

In 2010, Maine reported 61 coastal beaches. Of these, 3 (5%) were monitored more than once a week, 54 (89%) were monitored once a week, 2 (3%) were monitored every other week, and 2 (3%) were monitored once a month. NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2010 percent exceedance rates, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2010, 11% of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards. The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rates in 2010 were Goodies Beach (45%) and Laite Beach (32%) in Knox County; Lincolnville Beach Area in Waldo County (30%); Short Sands Beach (28%), Little Beach (28%), Riverside (Ogunquit) (24%), Sea Point Beach (24%), and Goose Rocks (21%) in York County; and Lagoon Beach in Sagadahoc County (20%).

Knox County had the highest exceedance rate (33%) in 2010, followed by Waldo (30%), York (10%), Cumberland (8%), Hancock (8%), Sagadahoc (7%), and Lincoln (0%) counties.

In May 2011, U.S. EPA released its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2010 swimming season. Note that for some states the data is incomplete, making state-to-state or year-to-year comparisons difficult.

The MHBP reported the following information to EPA for 2009:

Based on the EPA PRAWN notification day duration criteria (<24 hours = 1 day; <48 hours = 2 days), the number of beach action days (250) was higher in 2009 compared to the number of days (174) reported in 2008. The number of beach action days in 2009 is likely inflated due to the record amount of rainfall throughout the season.

Goose Rocks Beach (Kennebunkport) with historically poor water quality continued a positive trend of fewer beach actions days compared to previous years. There were only 11 beach action days in 2009, 9 in 2008, compared to 39 days in 2007. Laite Beach (Camden) had 2 beach actions days in 2009 compared to 24 in 2008. Wells Harbor Beach (Wells) had only 2 beach action days in 2009 compared to 8 in 2008. Kinney Shores and Bay View beaches in Saco which were posted for a week following heavy rainfall in August 2008, each had zero beach action days in 2009. Similarly, Crescent Beach (Kittery), Little Beach (Ogunquit), Ferry Beach (Scarborough), Pine Point (Scarborough), Kettle Cove Beach (Cape Elizabeth), and Lincolnville Beach had zero beach action days in 2009 compared to 9 days (Crescent), 7 days (Little), 6 days (Ferry), 2 days (Pine Point), 4 days (Kettle Cove) and 8 days (Lincolnville) in 2008.

Four beach management areas (Willard, East End, Goodies, Ducktrap) accounted for 37% of the reported beach action days in 2009. Both Willard and East End beach are considered “urban” beaches with stormwater issues. Goodies beach is a newly recruited area and potential sources include boats, the mouth of the Goose River, and stormwater.

Several areas with historically good water quality experienced issues in 2009. This is most likely due to the large volume and frequency of rainfall throughout the season. For example, York Harbor Beach (York), which has never had a water quality exceedance since joining the program in 2003, had 9 beach action days in 2009. The source(s) of bacteria are unknown.

There was 24.79 inches of rainfall reported in the Portland area during the 2009 beach season and which is approximately 2.5 times above average. In response to the high number of beach actions days in 2009, the MHB Program examined the relationship between rainfall and Enterococci levels for targeted beach management areas.

The Northern New England Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has created an Ocean Sickness Database where surfers can log data if they suspect they have fallen sick due to surfing in the ocean off the coast of Maine. Individual privacy information will be protected, but this should help us eventually get a feel for the risk involved to humans recreating in water with high bacteria counts, surfers in this case being the ‘indicator species‘. If you suspect you have fallen ill due to surfing in the ocean off the coast of Maine, please visit Maine Ocean Illness Database.

The EPA has information on water quality in Maine including a nice fact sheet, which states that Maine's water quality has significantly improved since enactment of the Clean Water Act in 1972. Atlantic salmon and other fish now return to Maine's rivers, and waters that were once open sewers are now clean enough to swim in. 99% of the state's estuarine waters have good water quality that fully supports aquatic life uses. Bacteria from municipal treatment plants, combined sewer overflows, and small discharges contaminate shellfish beds in estuarine waters. http://www.epa.gov/ow/states/ME/

The United States Geological Survey maintains a website, Maine Water Science Center. This site is a valuable source of information including current projects, online reports, publications, and maps, real-time water conditions and educational outreach material for teachers and students.

Another water quality information source is the website of Maine Sea Grant.

Storm Drains and Sewage Outfalls

Information on the location or number of storm drains or sewer outfalls in Maine was not readily available.

Combined Sewer Overflows

Municipalities are required to license their Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA). License requirements direct municipalities to evaluate their CSO problems and determine cost effective solutions to abate them. The MDEP maintains a database of the number of CSOs and works with the Municipalities to eliminate them. Information contained in Maine's 2008 Integrated Water Quality Report indicated:

Thirty-seven Maine communities [193 CSO discharge points] are served by combined sewer systems, which convey a combination of sanitary and storm water flows to wastewater treatment facilities. During dry weather, all of the sewage in a combined system is conveyed to the treatment plant for adequate treatment. However, during rainstorms or snow-melt periods, stormwater mixes with the sanitary sewage, causing flows that exceed the capacity of the sewer system. This results in combined sewer overflows (CSOs), which vary extensively in pollutant types, concentrations and loads, as well as in volume of overflow and severity of impact to the receiving waterbodies. Maine has established an aggressive program, coordinated with EPA's CSO program, to assist communities in evaluating the design, condition, activity, and effects of combined sewer systems and overflows.

The 2008 CSO Status Report states:

Currently in Maine there are 35 communities (towns or cities) with CSO discharge points in their sewerage systems (down from an original 60). These communities collectively have 177 individual CSO discharge points (down from an original 340). In large communities hundreds of millions of gallons per year of untreated combined sanitary sewage and storm water may be discharged. Statewide, approximately 1.5 to 2.5 billion gallons are discharged annually from CSOs (down from an estimated original volume of 6.2 billion gallons).

Further information on Maine's Combined Sewer Overflow Program is available at: http://www.state.me.us/dep/blwq/doceng/csotech.htm

An article in the Bangor Daily News on June 18, 2008 noted that:

There are hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of water and sewer projects that have been identified as needed in Maine, but the state and federal resources available to help municipalities build them is a fraction of that. The Department of Environmental Protection, for example, has identified 88 sewer projects in Maine cities and towns totaling more than $293 million that should be completed over the next five years.

Gov. John Baldacci noted that a $3.4 million bond issue on the November ballot would bring in $17 million from the federal government for such projects, but he said that is far short of the need. He said Congress should increase both grants and loan programs.

"What we have in this bond doesn’t even scratch the need," Baldacci said. "Over the last 10 years or so we have seen less aid from the federal government and a reluctance on the part of towns to raise taxes or fees to pay for needed investments."

Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe said Congress has been negligent in providing adequate funds for water and sewer projects. Snowe said that since 2003, Congress has reduced funding for water and sewer programs by more than $600 million when it should have been increasing it.

An editorial in the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on October 22, 2007 urged the city of Portland to move ahead on a $60 million, six-year program to eliminate the estimated 27 combined sewer overflows that can discharge untreated human and industrial waste into the harbor during periods of heavy rainfall.

The state also maintains a geo-referenced database of licensed overboard discharges (OBD), wastewater outfalls, and wastewater facilities. As of 2004 there were approximately 1,640 OBDs on the coast of Maine. Information on Maine's OBD program can be found at http://www.maine.gov/dep/blwq/docstand/OBD/

Stormwater Program

Maine's stormwater program works toward protecting and restoring surface and groundwater impacted by stormwater flows. Stormwater runoff from developed areas in watersheds carries pollutants, and affects the rates and volumes of flows in natural waterbodies in ways that can cause damage. Everyone has a role in reducing impacts from stormwater runoff, from the large developer constructing a new parking lot, to the homeowner using good erosion control methods and handling chemicals carefully around the house.

The existing Maine Stormwater Program includes the regulation of stormwater under two core laws: The Site Location of Development law (Site Law) and Stormwater Management Law. Aspects of stormwater are also addressed under industry specific laws such as the borrow pit and solid waste laws, and the rules administered by the Land Use Regulation Commission.

DEP was delegated authority for the federal NPDES program in 2001, based upon DEP's authority under Maine's waste discharge laws and water classification laws. DEP is in the process of developing general permits. More information.

New federal requirements for regulating stormwater went into effect on March 10, 2003. Known as Stormwater Phase II under the NPDES permit program, the requirements affect new development that disturbs between 1 and 5 acres of land ("small construction activities"), and urban areas within 28 municipalities in Maine that are designated under federal regulations as having regulated small Municipal Separate Storm Sewer Systems (MS4s).

Phase I, which was previously implemented by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), regulated new development that disturbed 5 or more acres of land ("stormwater discharges associated with industrial activity"), and medium and large MS4s. Maine did not have any communities large enough to be considered medium or large MS4s.

Maine has been delegated by EPA to administer the NPDES program, and Maine DEP is developing general permits to apply to construction activities disturbing one or more acres of land (both large and small construction activities) and to the regulated small MS4s. In the future, Maine DEP will also develop a general permit to replace the federal Multisector General Permit. When materials are made available for public comment, they can be found on the public comment page.

A recent development regarding sewer discharges occurred at Kennebunkport. The town currently permits direct discharge of sewage during winter months, only treating the sewage in the summer months. Numerous surfers and fisherman have complained of ear, nose and throat infections during the winter months. The Northern New England Surfrider Chapter has brought the issue to the attention of Kennebunkport and the Maine DEP through a formal letter. Year-round treatment was preliminarily approved by a majority vote of the Kennebunkport Board of Selectmen. Surfrider provided testimony on the issue at the meeting. The existing wastewater facility will need to be expanded to deal with the additional treatment. The efforts of Surfrider's Northern New England Chapter in this matter prompted the following email from a local citizen:

"I would like to applaud the Northern New England Surfriders recent efforts in helping us prevent Kennebunkport, Maine's sewer department from dumping up to 250,000 gallons of raw untreated sewage (daily) into the river that flows right on to our surf break! This Surfrider group gets things done; they contacted Maine's Department of Environmental Protection who in turn ordered Kennebunkport to fix this problem or face serious fines and penalties. These actions evoked this appalling response from one environmentally unconscious selectman "I would say to the surfers, go find another beach". Surfrider has also showed a presence at recent public hearings involving an attempt to regulate surfing here. An amazing effort and a real inspiration to join the Surfriders!"

Despite the above victory, as of October 2007, 11 communities statewide still had a "301 (h) waiver" allowing them to discharge primary treated wastewater into rivers or the ocean. The federal Clean Water Act (written in 1972) required all wastewater treatment facilities to upgrade to secondary treatment by the late 1980s. An example is the town of Bucksport, whose wastewater treatment plant discharges into the Penobscot River. Their request for another waiver was turned down by the federal EPA, but the town's attorney is repotedly planning to argue the case with EPA.

No Discharge Area

In July 2006 Casco Bay (contiguous waters north and east of Cape Elizabeth Light in Cape Elizabeth, to a point at Bald Point in Pittsburgh) was designated a No Discharge Area where discharges of sewage (even treated sewage) from boats is no longer allowed. Maine's Governor John Baldacci anticipates that other coastal areas in the state will be so designated in the near future.

In fact, the waters around Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells were designated as a no-discharge area in August 2009. Maine now has four no-discharge areas. Of these, the Kennebunk, Kennebunkport and Wells zone is the southernmost. More info. Information regarding No Discharge Areas (NDA) in Maine and elsewhere in New England can also be found on EPA's Website.

Water Quality Contact (Runoff and Outfalls)

John True
Division of Engineering and Technical Assistance
17 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0017
Phone: (207) 287-7808
Email: john.n.true@maine.gov

David Ladd
Department of Environmental Protection
Phone: (207) 287-5404
Email: david.ladd@maine.gov

Susan Davies
Department of Environmental Protection
State House #17
Augusta, ME 04333
Email: susan.p.davies@maine.gov

Perception of Causes

Land-use practices impact water resources, especially during and following rainfall conditions. Rainwater washes the land and carries pollutants (e.g. malfunctioning septic systems, pet waste) from lawns and roadways as direct runoff to the surf zone or via rivers, streams, storm drains, etc.

According to Maine's 2008 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, 94.35 percent of the marine waters assessed were "Category 2", which is "Attains some of the designated uses; no use is threatened; and insufficient data or no data and information is available to determine if the remaining uses are attained or threatened (with presumption that all uses are attained)." Most of the remaining assessed marine waters (5.50 percent of marine waters) were "Category 5", which is "Waters impaired or threatened for one or more designated uses by a pollutant(s), and a TMDL report is required." The identified "cause/stressor type" for most (95 percent) of the Category 5 marine waters was PCBs and dioxins, with bacteria causing the impairment for about 5 percent of the marine waters.

The Maine Healthy Beaches Program faces the following issues: a) lag time in receiving bacteria results; (b) inability to monitor privately owned beaches; (c) limited staff and resources for monitoring small coastal community beaches and freshwater beaches; (d) limited number of laboratories capable of analyzing water samples; (e) ability to collect, transport and analyze samples within the 6 hr. holding time; (f) lack of effective models that can accurately predict pollution events in such a highly dynamic environment.

NRDC reported:

Causes of Closings and Advisories: All closing and advisory days in 2009 were due to monitoring that revealed elevated bacteria levels from unknown sources of contamination.

Public Education

Maine Healthy Beaches conducts outreach to inform the public about actions it can take to protect beachwater quality. Maine Healthy Beaches participates in the meetings of other agencies and local groups as requested to coordinate and encourage pollution prevention activities that improve beachwater quality. Brochures such as A Guide to Safer Swimming in Maine and Healthy Boating Equals Healthy Beaches are also distributed to the public. In addition, the Maine Healthy Beaches Website has a Pet Waste and Water Quality brochure and other educational information.

The Maine Healthy Beaches Program developed a Municipal Guide to Clean Water: Conducting Sanitary Surveys to Improve Coastal Water Quality. This resource is meant to assist communities and resource managers in finding, fixing and preventing sources of bacterial pollution and was reviewed by over 30 professionals at the local, state Freshwater input and federal level.

Maine DEP's website has a public education section that has links to newsletters, a Nonpoint Source Awareness Campaign, the Nonpoint Source Training and Resource Center, and materials for both students and teachers.

The Maine Coastal Program at the Maine State Planning Office has published a free environmental children’s book, The Watershed Journey of Linus Loon. The book, designed for grades 3-7, teaches students the basics of watershed ecology and nonpoint source pollution, and encourages environmental appreciation, awareness, and stewardship.

The Maine Sea Grant education program seeks to improve K-12 marine-related educational opportunities in the state, as well as continued learning programs for educators. The education program offers in-service teacher training workshops and develops curriculum materials that incorporate Maine's Learning Results. Maine Sea Grant also supports the Maine Research Internships for Teachers and Students (MERITS) summer internship program for high school students and teachers. In addition, members of Maine Sea Grant's Marine Extension Team conduct many formal and informal educational programs and have valuable connections with teachers and students throughout the state. Extension associates assist with lessons, provide field experiences, and participate in curriculum development.

Also see the Maine NEMO (Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials) Program.
http://www.mainenemo.org/

Maine Shore Stewards are citizen volunteers who care for the coast of Maine. Their efforts contribute important data and information to Maine's decision-makers to help solve pollution problems, restore clam flats, and encourage an ethic of caring for the coast in Maine communities. The Maine Shore Stewards Program provides ongoing technical assistance and organizational support to Maine's network of volunteers as well as information on coastal resource monitoring and protection.

Additional water quality educational resources can be found here and here.

General Reference Documents and Websites

NOAA has created an Alternatives for Coastal Development website which illustrates and analyzes three different residential development scenarios for for a hypothetical coastal property. Economic, environmental, and social indicators are calculated and compared for each scenario. This information should be useful to anyone (developers, citizens, local governments, etc.) interested in applying similar development design components in their communities.

EPA has compiled several NPS (Nonpoint Source) Outreach Products that are a selection of television, radio, and print products on nonpoint source pollution that have been developed by various agencies and organizations around the country. They are good examples of outreach in the mass media.

NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International City/County Management Association and Rhode Island Sea Grant, will be releasing, in August 2009, a first-of-its kind interagency guide that adapts smart growth principles to the unique needs of coastal and waterfront communities. Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 coastal and waterfront-specific guidelines that help manage development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues.

USGS' Great Lakes Beach Science website has a nationwide database that contains greater than 1200 citations for publications directly and indirectly pertaining to recreational water quality intended for access by the general public and scientific community. It is a fully searchable, downloadable bibliography that has been categorized into major study topics.

State of the Beach Report: Maine

Maine Home

Beach Description

Beach Access

Water Quality

Beach Erosion

Erosion Response

Beach Fill

Shoreline Structures

Beach Ecology

Surfing Areas

Website