A new program has been initiated by the Department of Environmental Protection. Called, LakeSmart, the program is directed towards reducing non-point source pollution (NPSP) as a contaminant for Maine Lakes. Although NPSP can take many forms, a major type affecting Maine’s fresh water bodies is phosphorus, which is carried into lakes via run-off from rain or melting snow. When phosphorus reaches a lake, it promotes algae growth, which in turn depletes oxygen levels within the lake and eventually ends up as scum.

There are many sources of phosphorus around a normal residence. Phosphorus exists in the gravel used on driveways and road beds, in asphalt shingles commonly used as roofing, in asphalt used in paving drives or walkways, in salt and sand put down for winter road maintenance, in most yard and lawn fertilizers, and in many automotive products. Any of these are potential sources of contamination that can be carried into a lake with every rainfall.

The LakeSmart program offers two services to property owners in its attempt to reduce NPSP.

The first is what is called TECHNICAL SUPPORT, which involves providing professional advice on how to minimize or eliminate pollutants running into the lake from one’s property. At no cost to the homeowner, a trained representative from LakeSmart will visit your property, conduct a site inspection, discuss run-off issues with you, and make suggestions about how water flow from rain storms and snow melt might be better directed into vegetated areas removed from the lake. The site visitors are not Code Enforcement Officers, but are instead part of the DEP’s Education Center.

The second service offered as part of LakeSmart is an EVALUATION PROGRAM, which attempts to reward homeowners for environmentally sound development of their property. At the owner’s request, representatives from LakeSmart conduct an on-site evaluation of a property in each of the following four areas: (1) Roads, Driveways, and Parking, (2) Structures, Housekeeping and Septic Systems, (3) Lawn, Recreation Area and Footpaths, and (4) Shorefront and Beach Area. Points scored in an area can result in a Certificate of Merit being issued by the DEP for sound environmental practices in each. If a property’s overall rating represents 67% or more of the total points available, an Outstanding Achievement Award is issued, which recognizes environmentally sound design, maintenance, and landscaping. Recipients of the overall award receive one interior, and two exterior, plaques that can be posted on the shorefront, at the entrance to a residence, and within the dwelling. In short, the EVALUATION PROGRAM attempts to reward people for doing things right, rather than fine them for doing things wrong.

A number of families on Branch became involved in the LakeSmart effort in 2003. Two families on the Cove Way and one on the Walls Farm Road have received technical advice on how to handle specific problems involving run-off on their properties. Three families, one on Branchview and two on Phillips Way, have had their properties evaluated, all receiving certificates of merit or the overall award. In the spring or early summer of 2004, one residence on Branchview is scheduled for technical advice and two more on Phillips Way will be evaluated for potential awards.

A loose committee has been formed, composed of the following members:

Don Hayes, Chairperson (Phillips Way)
John Lyons (Cove Way)
Vince & Gibby Griffin (Branchview Drive)
Paul & Vi Wight (Branchview Drive)
Kay Wilkins (Phillips Way)
Dave & Joyce Hardy (Phillips Way)
Laura Wilson (U of M Cooperative Extension)
Michelle Gagnon (Ellsworth City Planner)
Liz Petterson (Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District)

All of the members hope to promote LakeSmart through discussions with neighbors and via presentations at their respective road association meetings. Kay Wilkins (having just completed the Master Gardener course) has offered to provide advice and suggestions on the use of native plants for vegetated buffers or garden areas. John Lyons and Don Hayes are exploring possible grant agencies that might fund LakeSmart projects. And Don Hayes and Liz Petterson will develop a LakeSmart brochure that will be sent to all shorefront property owners on Branch Lake.

If you would like to become involved in this effort or would like a LakeSmart evaluation or technical advice, contact Don Hayes either by e-mail ( donattreehaven@webtv.net ) or phone 667-4716.

Does Branch Lake need LakeSmart? Many residents think the answer is, "Yes!" and for the following reasons. First, a number of people have noticed algae blooms in various parts of the lake. Over the past several years, blooms have occurred near Sand Beach, in Rocky Pond Cove, and in the cove at the end of Phillips Way. Although Invasive Aquatic Plants are of grave concern to all of us, we’ve learned that Non-Point Source Pollution is the number one cause for concern in terms of threats to the water quality of any Maine lake. Second, oxygen levels (measured by the DEP and the City of Ellsworth) between 1972 and 2000 have dropped by approximately 70% in Lower Lake and 27% in Upper Lake.

The introduction of phosphorus into a lake is a major cause of algae blooms and decreased oxygen levels. Because a major goal of LakeSmart is to reduce non-point source pollution in general, and especially run-off, which carries phosphorus, implementation of this program on Branch is absolutely the right thing to do. As the principles of LAKESMART are clearly consistent with the mission of the Branch Pond Association, the Executive Board unanimously endorsed the LakeSmart effort at its August 2003 meeting.