Water picks up pollutants, naturally

From the York County Coast Star, July 28, 1999
Reproduced with permission.

By Leah Wentworth

In late May, after nearly a year of working on a full-time basis with the waters of Maine, I asked a group of students if they knew what watershed they lived in. From their blank stares, I knew they were stumped. But in the process, I realized I had also stumped myself. I wasn't even sure what watershed I lived in.

Through my experience with AmeriCorps (a federal community service program that I have been serving in for a year as a volunteer water quality monitoring support person) I was able to explain to the students that a watershed is the land area from which water drains into a body of water. I told them to imagine a watershed as a cereal bowl with a pool of water at the bottom. Any water that falls on the bowl will flow down along the surface to the pool of water at the bottom. Like a bowl's rim, high points in the landscape such as ridges and hilltops serve as the boundaries of the watershed bringing the precipitation to the "pools" of the earth.

After some research, I learned that I, as a resident of Arundel on Log Cabin Road, live in the Kennebunk River watershed. This small watershed is part of a bigger watershed, which incorporates all of us who live in Maine - The Gulf of Maine Watershed. There was a time that I believed when it rained, new water was being added to the earth. Now I understand that's not so.

Water continually cycles from the earth to the atmosphere, and then back to the earth again. Rain and melted snow, run down, through watersheds, into surface waters or infiltrates into the soil and rocks where it becomes ground water. Groundwater also eventually enters into surface our lakes, rivers, wetlands, and ocean. As water continues to cycle it carries with it any pollutants it comes in contact with both on land and in the sky.

The amount of water on earth is finite and it is critical that we keep it clean. Through my service with the ten, water quality monitoring groups on the coast from Kittery to Yarmouth, I have seen and learned about the types of pollutants which are washing down through our watersheds and polluting the waters.

Time and time again when I go out water testing with AKKWA (the Arundel, Kennebunk, and Kennebunkport Watershed Alliance) we find in the water high counts of fecal coliform - a bacteria which grows in the digestive tracts of warm blooded animals.

Fecal coliform undoubtedly means there is sewage contamination in the water. With it comes the threat of viruses or parasites, which are health risks for humans. Sewage in the water comes from many sources such as malfunctioning septic systems, discharges from boats and overboard discharge systems. Fecal coliform also enters the water through animal wastes, which are primarily generated from agricultural activities, but also by pets and wildlife.

Human development also effects our water quality. One such development, which causes concern for me and is a good example of the effect humans can have on our watersheds, is an 18-hole golf course currently being proposed for a 245-acre parcel of property along the Maine turnpike in Wells.

Golf courses usually apply fertilizer and chemicals to their lawns to keep them green and lush. Obviously toxic and harmful to our health, when it rains, these chemicals wash away into our watersheds – and subsequently into our drinking water.

Other development threats come from the creation of impervious areas such as roads, buildings, and parking lots. These unnatural structures increase the volume and speed of storm water runoff, which expedites the erosion of stream banks. Exposed soil (areas of uncovered, dug-up dirt ) expedites the process of erosion as well. The sediment (sand, silt, and other soil particles) brought into streams and estuarine waters from development and exposed soil is harmful in several ways: it interferes with the biological functions of the plants and animals in the water and it transports toxins, such as chemical fertilizer and organic manure fertilizers. This excess of "nutrients" causes the rapid overgrowth of organisms such as algae in our watersheds. These "algae blooms" can cause oxygen depletion leading to massive fish and shellfish kills, closure of shellfish beds, floating scum, and foul odors.

The fact that there are so many ways to poison our water may seem daunting, but there are a few simple steps everyone can take to help protect it. Here are five examples.

• Dispose of chemicals properly. Pouring them down the drain or in the backyard is deadly to our waters.
• Keep lawns small and use trees and shrubs to help filter rain runoff. Chemical lawn treatments should be avoided.
• Get to know your soil. Test it and learn what it needs and what it doesn't need. That way fertilizer will not be used in excess.
• It is imperative that septic systems are maintained so human sewage does not enter into our watersheds.
• Compost your food and yard waste and as always; reduce, reuse and recycle. By doing these simple steps you can help protect our lakes, rivers, streams, and ocean.

Clean water and the future of our watersheds starts with you!

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