Nonpoint Source Pollution - Programs
Along with the simple preventative actions you can take against nonpoint source pollution in your own backyard, there are other ways to get involved on a larger scale. Maintaining good water quality relies on actively involved citizens. Fortunately, in Maine, many water bodies have organized lake and watershed associations. The activities of such associations can vary widely from holding regular meetings to volunteers testing water quality to holding family lake days to conducting complete watershed surveys. Lake and watershed associations are not alone in their efforts - there are a number of programs and organizations around Maine that help make them successful.
Here is a list of programs and organizations that individuals and lake or watershed associations can get involved with to go above and beyond to help maintain water quality around the state and in your own backyard.
Nonpoint Source Water Pollution Control Grants ("319"). Grant funds can be used to assess and correct stormwater runoff problems.
Watershed Protection Grant. Grant funds can be used to help protect water quality of a lake or stream and to educate the public about the relationship between land use and water quality.
Family Lake Days. The DEP will assist lake associations, schools and communities in coordinating one of these fun and educational days.
Citizen Action. This is a list of local, state-wide, and national organizations and programs focused on waterbodies and their watersheds.
Maine Stream Team Program. This is another program offered by the DEP and it allows individuals or groups to adopt a stream in their area and become involved in its monitoring and protection.
Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO). (Off-site) A nationally based educational program available in Maine. Their goal is to raise awareness among municipal officials of the relationship between land use and the protection of aquatic resources.
NPS Training Center. This DEP education program is directed towards contractors and provides them with training workshops and resources (videos, pictures, and publications) regarding stormwater runoff and best management practices.
NPS Control Program. This program aims to restore and protect water resources from NPS pollution. Its basic objective is to prompt the use of best management practices to prevent water pollution, but also strives for clean water, compliance with applicable laws, and having locally supported watershed stewardship.
Materials. This page offers a variety of NPS-focused resources ranging from issue profiles to information about buffers to an example of a watershed survey report.
Small Community Grant (SCG) Program. This DEP program is geared towards correcting septic system failure, especially ones that are threatening a stream, lake, or estuary with special emphasis on drinking water supplies or shell-fishing areas.
Volunteer Lakes Monitoring Program. (Off-site) This program recruits volunteers to monitor physical and chemical data through the summer months for a lake they live on or near. They also provide educational workshops for citizens interested in current issues involving lakes.
Watershed Stewards Program. (Off-site) This program is a collaborative effort between the University of Maine Cooperative Extension and the DEP. Their goal is to train volunteers to identify sources of water pollution and to correct problems within priority watersheds.
Maine Shore Stewards Program. (Off-site) This program was developed to encourage citizens to participate in coastal resource monitoring. The program's volunteers provide important data to decision makers to help solve pollution problems.
