Photo Credit: Kerry Freeman
WINTER 2014
Portland Water District ∙ 225 Douglass Street ∙ Portland, Maine 04104-3553 ∙ 207.761.8310 ∙ www.pwd.org
Native Plant Water Events What’s Making Climate 3 Spotlight 4Watch 5 2014 6 Waves? 7 Change District Installs New England’s
Second Largest UV Treatment Facility By Laurel Jackson If you have driven down Route 35 infrared rays (heat). through Standish recently, you may UV light can also have noticed a huge crane looming be man-made, such as the lamps used over the water treatment plant where in tanning beds. Routes 35 and 237 intersect. Science has proven that UV rays cause Or maybe you have noticed more trucks damage to human coming and going from the entrances skin cells, resulting to the facility. These vehicles and in suntan, sunburn, equipment are being used in a major and sometimes construction project to install ultra- skin cancer, and violet (UV) treatment at the Sebago Lake that is why we Water Treatment Facility. The facility wear sunscreen to treats water from Sebago Lake to make it protect ourselves. safe for drinking, cooking, and bathing In addition to for over 200,000 people in the Greater damaging human A UV reactor is delivered to the Sebago Lake Portland area. Since the facility was built cells, UV light also damages other types Water Treatment Facility in 1993, water from Sebago Lake has been of cells making it useful as a water disinfected using a combination of ozone disinfectant. It works to make water safe why add another type of treatment? The (a form of oxygen) and chloramines (a for drinking by penetrating potentially answer is that ongoing research across chlorine-based compound). In 2014, harmful cells (bacteria, viruses, and other the country identifies new contaminants UV light treatment will be added as an germs) and destroying their DNA. With and treatment must evolve to address the additional form of disinfection. Many its DNA destroyed, it is impossible for a of you are probably familiar with the cell to reproduce which makes it unable to Continued on page 2 terms “ultra-violet” or “UV” from buying infect people and make sunglasses, but how and why is UV light them sick. used in water treatment? So now we know UV light is a form of energy that is similar the “how” of UV to light that humans can see but is invisible disinfection, but what and contains more energy (see Figure 1). about the “why?” If The sun is the major source of UV light the water is already in nature. The energy emitted by the sun being treated and is contains visible light rays, UV rays, and safe for people to use, Figure 1. Emperor Aquatics, Inc.
risks they may pose. The Environmental Protection Agency made a new rule in 2006 that requires utilities that use surface water such as a lake, for drinking water to install additional treatment to protect against Cryptosporidium (crypto) infection. UV treatment has proved to be very effective at destroying Cryptosporidium.
The new treatment must be installed by April 2014 and the project at the Sebago Lake Treatment Facility is on track to meet that goal. Crypto is a microscopic parasite that can cause serious illness and is found in human and animal fecal UV equipment installed inside the Sebago Lake Water Treatment Facility matter. It can be found in recreational lakes as well as pools and hot tubs that is still a risk that it could be present due to Operators are currently being trained in have not been properly disinfected. people swimming and wildlife using the using the UV system and treatment will Because crypto exists in a durable “cyst” lake. The addition of UV treatment will begin this year. Drinking water from form, it is more resistant to common increase drinking water disinfection to Sebago Lake will continue to be treated disinfection methods such as chlorine a level where a crypto infection is nearly with ozone and chloramines as well, so (see the Water Watch section for more impossible! A benefit of using UV as a it will be disinfected in three different details about Cryptosporidium and the disinfectant is that, because it is not a ways! In fact, along with the addition of illness it can cause). Tests have shown that chemical, it does not change the taste or UV treatment, the ozone system is being UV is effective at destroying crypto cysts. odor of the water. upgraded to a high-efficiency system that Although crypto has not been detected in will save electricity and provide reliable the water we pull from Sebago Lake, there The construction project is nearly ozone treatment into the future. complete and a new treatment chamber Laurel Jackson is a water has been installed that houses a series With the completion of the project, the resources specialist at the of 84 UV bulbs set to the optimum Sebago Lake Treatment Facility will be the Portland Water District. She can be reached at [email protected] wavelength for disinfection. As water second largest UV facility in New England flows past the bulbs, the UV rays will and another barrier of protection will be destroy bacteria, crypto cysts, and other added to safeguard public health. potentially harmful cells.
2 MOSS PHLOX Native Plant Spotlight: (Phlox subulata)
Photos: Brie A. Holme
Size: Grows to about 6 inches high and spreads to form an attractive groundcover
Foliage: Leaves are thin, needle- like, and bright green. Flowers are Soil conditions: Prefers Visit the Sebago Lake typically varying shades of pink well drained soils Ecology Center to see but different varieties can be found examples of this and in purple and white. Light: Full sun other native plants!
Bloom time: Early to mid-spring Zones: 3-9
3 WATER
WATCH Photos: Mark Hunt, Huntstock.com Cryptosporidium By Nate Whalen
The District monitors Sebago Lake for fecal contamination.
Cryptosporidiosis is a nasty intestinal illness caused by a tiny parasite called Cryptosporidium – sometimes referred to as “crypto.”
It is one of the most common The microscopic organism persists from coming through the tap is to waterborne diseases in America. in the environment for months, or keep it out of the lake to begin with. Cryptosporidiosis is generally even years, inside a protective shell And crypto is only one of many caused by swallowing contaminated (called a cyst) and is transmitted illnesses that can be transmitted water and there are about 9,000 in human and animal fecal matter. through human bodily contact with documented cases in the U.S. Each time a carrier/host defecates, the water. each year. A 1993 outbreak in the millions of these cysts are released Milwaukee public water supply into the environment. The cysts enter Restricting human contact in Lower infected 403,000 people, hospitalized a water body by either washing into Bay is a precautionary measure the 4,400 and killed 100. The Milwaukee the water when it rains or by being Legislature ordered in 1913. The law Water District’s water filtration directly deposited into the water. recognized the importance of source system could not protect people When the cysts are ingested by the protection to reduce contamination. from a contaminated Lake Michigan. next unsuspecting victim, their life Crypto can make anyone very sick cycle continues. Nate Whalen is a water resources and can be deadly to the young, specialist at the Portland Water People often wonder why swimming District. He can be reached at the elderly, and to people with [email protected]. compromised immune systems. is prohibited near the water intake pipes in Lower Bay. This is because the most effective way to keep crypto
4 Sebago Lake Land Reserve: Celebrate Forests, Recreation, and Clean Water By Sarah Plummer Join us on the Sebago Lake Land Reserve in 2014! The 2,500 acre Sebago Lake Land their own equipment, and events are Reserve is a managed forest intended subject to weather conditions. Full moon to protect Sebago Lake, the drinking snowshoe treks are planned for February water supply for Greater Portland. The 14 and March 18, 2014. Cross country Land Reserve, located in Standish and skiing outings are planned for February 15 Gorham, includes 1,700 acres that have and March 15, 2014. been open to the public since 2005 for recreation such as hiking, snowshoeing, Trail Day 2014: May 10 and horseback riding. Its trail network Join us as we celebrate National Drinking connects to well-known trail systems, Water Week during the first week of May! including Sebago to the Sea and the Several water and ecology focused events Mountain Division trails. will be held, including the second annual Trail Day on Saturday, May 10, 2014. Trail Recently, PWD concluded a three-year Day will include free guided events for all project on the Land Reserve trails to ages and interests. Activities will include improve access and usability. Trails adult and family nature hikes, preschool were cleared, defined, and identified nature exploration activities, and faster- using GPS technology, a trail map was paced options like trail running and created, and signs were installed. To mountain biking. celebrate, an inaugural Trail Day was held in September 2013. Approximately Little Lake Stewards Story Time 70 participants enjoyed the trails and Our popular preschool program will run learned about the local ecology. one Friday per month through the spring of 2014. Each two hour session focuses on UPCOMING EVENTS! a nature-related theme which is reinforced Snowshoeing and XC Skiing through books, a craft project, snacks, and on the Land Reserve outdoor exploration on the Land Reserve Full moon snowshoe treks and cross (weather permitting). Dates: February 21, country skiing outings are planned March 21, and April 25, 2014. this winter on the Sebago Lake Land Reserve. Join PWD for moderately Space is limited and reservations are paced events. Participants must provide required for all events, all of which are free of charge. E-mail [email protected] or call 207-774-5961 x 3320 to reserve your spot, learn more, or sign up for our e-mail list to keep up-to-date on our exciting and fun activities!
Like us on Facebook to learn more about these events and our efforts to protect Sebago Lake.
Sarah Plummer is the environmental education coordinator at the Portland Water District. She can be reached at [email protected]
Trail Day 2013 participants
5 What’s Making Waves
Around Sebago Lake? By Chad Thompson
February Talk about Land District land outside of the no bodily Conservation in the Sebago contact zone on Sebago Lake. As a result of Lake Watershed a request for proposals to area site design Members from the public are encouraged firms, the town has recently granted the to attend a gathering in Casco on the contract for site design work to an engi- evening of February 17 featuring a neering consultant from Gorham, Maine. presentation by Paul Hunt, Environmental Other recent work includes a site walk and Manager of the Portland Water District, delineation of a proposed access road right The oil pipeline hangs over Panther Run of way. near Sebago Lake. describing the District’s new Land Conservation Initiative. PWD’s goal is District Working to to support landowners and towns that 2014 Images of Sebago Lake Prevent Oil Spills want to conserve their land because in Calendar: Available Now! The Portland-to-Montreal oil pipeline addition to meeting the landowner’s Copies of the ninth edition of the Images is operated by the Portland Pipeline wishes, conserving land also helps protect of Sebago Lake Calendar are now available Company (PPL). It runs near Sebago the quality of water. To demonstrate that at the Sebago Lake Ecology Center. Lake in Raymond and continues north support, the District’s Board of Trustees The Calendar features shots of Sebago along and across the Crooked River. has voted to provide financial support of Lake taken by amateur and hobbyist Though upstream of Sebago Lake, if up to 25% of the value of conservation photographers. Photos capturing the the pipeline were ever to leak, the lake projects. Following the presentation natural beauty of this remarkable resource could be impacted. The PPL has a spill there will be discussion and sharing vary with the changing seasons, water, and prevention and control plan in place and of information about recent regional subjects. Some photographers are lifelong the Portland Water District participates conservation accomplishments and trends. Sebago Lake residents while others capture in their periodic exercise of the plan. For more information contact the Loon a quick shot while passing by on their way The Water District Board of Trustees Echo Land Trust at (207) 647-4352. to somewhere else. The consistent theme, has directed staff to continue working however, is Sebago Lake’s striking and with area fire departments and PPL to SAPPI Launches Lake Level Blog constant beauty and a deep appreciation ensure that spill plans and procedures are In August 2013, SAPPI launched a new for the lake as a valuable resource. updated and easily implemented. blog to inform the public about changes in the water level of Sebago Lake. The Over 280 photographs from 46 amateur There has been speculation that the blog is updated regularly with lake level photographers were submitted for con- Portland-to-Montreal pipeline could be and outflow numbers, the status of water sideration for the 2014 Calendar. Stop in used in the future to transport tar sands releases from water bodies above Sebago to pick up a copy Monday through Friday oil. In an effort to thoroughly examine the Lake, effects of outflow on recreational during normal business hours. Supplies are issue, Trustees have held public hearings facilities along the Presumpscot River, and limited so one copy per person please. involving tar sands opponents, PPL information regarding lake officials, and pipeline regulators. They level changes required by the have authorized the hiring of a pipeline lake level management plan. consultant to provide expert advice and For more information, please to review and suggest improvements to visit http://presumpscotriver. safety measures and spill procedures, tumblr.com/. if any are identified. These actions are aimed at making the operation of the Standish Town Beach pipeline as safe as it can be, regardless of The Town of Standish the type of oil it is transporting. continues to work toward a proposal to develop a public beach on Portland Water Background photo; John Lubbock Pickerel Pond within the Perley Mills property.
6 Climate Change is Affecting
Sebago Lake By Brie A. Holme
SEBAGO’S ICE COVER IS CHANGING If you’re a year-round Sebago Lake resident, you may have noticed the ice on Sebago forming later in the winter and Calendar submission by Neil Hiltunen melting earlier in the spring, if it even forms at all. This phenomenon is occurring on lakes throughout New England. It turns out Sebago Lake has one of the longest records of ice-out data, dating back to 1807. The lake is considered ice-free when Big Bay is free of ice. According to the report, Climate Change in the Casco Bay Watershed: Past, Present, and Future, Sebago Lake ice-out occurs an average of 23 days earlier today than it did in 1807. Calendar submission by Kerry Freeman Figure 2 shows Sebago Lake ice out dates from 1807-2013*. Over the period from 1935 to 2013, there were 13 years when the Perley Mills Community Forest lake did not ice over completely – or once Loon Echo Land Trust is collaborating Water Resources Specialist Nate Whalen every 6 years on average. However, in the gets ready to collect a sediment sample for with the towns of Denmark, Bridgton, last 4 years this happened 3 times! the sediment chemistry study and Sebago to protect the 1,600 acre Perley Mills property and create a Shorter periods of ice cover result in longer What does all this rain mean for Sebago community forest. The $1,400,000 growing seasons for algae. More algae Lake? Well, it will not make the lake capital campaign was an ambitious leads to less clear water, less oxygen, and cleaner. When it rains, stormwater flows project but Loon Echo is happy to potential loss of habitat for cold water fish over the landscape, eroding soil and announce that they met the fundraising species. Fortunately for us, Sebago Lake is picking up pollutants like phosphorous, goal and purchased the land in so large and has such clean, clear, oxygen- E. coli bacteria, and gasoline on its way December 2013. With many important rich water that it will not be impacted as to a stream or the lake. In addition to ecological, recreational, and economic quickly or maybe even as completely as affecting water quality, extreme weather features, the long term protection smaller lakes. The Portland Water District events can also damage infrastructure. monitors for algae, water clarity, and Flooding can overwhelm culverts, of this parcel as a public open space dissolved oxygen to watch for trends. leading to culvert failure and sometimes and managed forestland is an asset to even road collapse. surrounding communities. Since it is OUR PRECIPITATION IS CHANGING also within the Sebago Lake watershed, In addition to earlier ice-out dates, we Lakes are complex ecosystems and keeping the land forested is important are experiencing changes in total annual the future effects of climate change on for maintaining excellent water quality precipitation and how often we experience Sebago Lake are not easily predicted. It of the lake. Recognizing the value of extreme weather events. According to is a good thing the lake is so clean and land conservation within the watershed, the Climate Change in the Casco Bay deep to begin with because it is less easily the Portland Water District contributed Watershed report, Portland’s annual changed than a smaller, shallower lake. $50,000 toward the project. precipitation has increased by almost an One thing is for sure: our climate has inch per decade over the period of 1891- already begun to change. What can you Chad Thompson is the source 2006. In addition, we are now experiencing do to help minimize the effects of climate protection coordinator at the Portland Water District. He can be extreme precipitation events (greater than change on Sebago Lake? reached at [email protected] two inches of rain in 48 hours) more often. ______In Portland, there are now four more Continues back page extreme precipitation events per year than Pickerel Pond within the Perley Mills property. there were in 1949. Background photo: Bruce Small 7 ______Continued from page 7 WHAT YOU CAN DO: • Become a Sebago Lakescaper. Contact PWD at [email protected] for a free site visit to learn how to make your lakefront property less likely to erode in a storm, and more beautiful as well. You may even be eligible for a matching grant for installing measures to prevent soil erosion and to slow down and absorb runoff. • Visit the US EPA’s website to find 10 simple things you can change at home to * Fig. 2: Ice out dates (number of days past January 1st) for Sebago Lake, 1807-2013. reduce your carbon footprint: www.epa. Red diamonds indicate years when Sebago did not freeze over completely. gov/climatechange/wycd/home.html You’d be surprised at how simple it can be--from replacing light bulbs to recycling, you can Climate Change Can Lead to near the bottom in late summer. If the bottom make a big difference. Phosphorous Recycling water in a lake looses all its oxygen, this can release the phosphorous from the sediments For more information on climate change Stormwater flowing into a lake carries pollutants into the water column where the algae can use and Sebago Lake: with it. Maybe the most concerning of these is it. This is truly a lake catastrophe since that Climate Change in the Casco Bay Watershed: phosphorous because it is the food that algae release of phosphorous will occur year after Past, Present, and Future: www.cascobay. need to grow and multiply. Too much phos- year and the lake will bloom bright green with usm.maine.edu/pdfs/Climate_Change_in_ phorous leads to too much algae and therefore an explosion of algae. It ruins everything. Casco_Bay.pdf green, murky water. ______Fortunately, Sebago Lake water quality remains * Figure 2 by Cameron P. Wake, PhD, Research Luckily, lakes have a way of dealing with the excellent and the bottom waters consistently Associate Professor of Climatology and Glaciology, problem of too much phosphorous. Much of it have plenty of oxygen, even in late summer. We UNH, with data from: Hodgkins, G. (2010) Historical settles to the bottom and is buried in the sedi- Ice-Out Dates for 29 Lakes in New England, 1807- just have to hope changes in climate don’t alter ments. But as a lake gets warmer and warmer 2008, USGS Open-File Report 2010-1214 http:// this situation. pubs.usgs.gov/of/2010/1214/pdf/ofr2010-1214.pdf the water holds less and less oxygen, particularly There is one other factor that could work in our favor – the chemistry of the bottom sediments. According to lake scientists at the Maine DEP, bottom sediments with a lot of aluminum are more able to hold the phosphorous, even if there is little or no oxygen in the water. In 2013 the PWD began testing the bottom sediments to find out if Sebago Lake is fortunate to also have this safeguard. The results are not yet in, so stay tuned to see what we found!
Brie Holme is a water resources specialist at the Flooding can cause culvert failure and Portland Water District. sometimes even road collapse, which She can be reached at happened in April of 2005 where Rte. 114 [email protected] crosses the Sticky River in Standish.
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The Sebago Lake Watershed News is published by the Portland Water District. Connect With Sebago!
Editorial Team: Michelle Clements, www.pwd.org | Follow Us @MyPortlandWater Paul Hunt, Brie Holme
Contributors: Glen Hodgkins, Brie Holme, Laurel The Watershed News is printed on 100% Jackson, Kirsten Ness, Sarah Plummer, Chad recycled paper processed chlorine free and Thompson, Cameron Wake, Nate Whalen manufactured with renewable biogas energy