Kennebunk River
Watershed-based management plan due in 2021
The Kennebunk River Watershed drains the towns of Lyman, Arundel, Kennebunkport, and Kennebunk. It includes the main stem of the Kennebunk River, Lords Brook, Carlisle Brook, numerous small tributary streams, ponds, and wetlands. The river forms a wide, tidal estuary at its mouth.
Facts
Drainage: 38 square miles
Drinking water source for: None
Receives wastewater from: None
Significant water features: Alewife Pond, Goochs Beach, Kennebunk Pond
Watershed Description
The Kennebunk River begins where Lords Brook and Sunken Brook meet in the town of Lyman. To the south, Alewife Pond sits in a 2600-acre area of mixed forest and agricultural land, providing important habitat for waterfowl and wintering deer. The tidal estuary and inland marsh near the mouth of the river also provide waterfowl habitat, as well as preferred habitat for the saltmarsh sparrow. The western portion of the watershed includes sections of the USDA Massabesic Experimental Forest, which includes Atlantic white cedar swamp communities.
As the river moves through Kennebunk, it passes through an area of dense development and extensive impervious surfaces. This increases stormwater runoff and the associated pollutants that wash into the estuary. Farm and domestic animal waste, as well as human sources (including leach fields) contribute to bacteria levels in the river.
Local Information
Towns in Watershed
Alfred, Arundel, Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, Lyman
Current Activities (last update: August 2020)
Water Quality Monitoring
The community has been involved with the Volunteer River Monitoring Program, a program of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), since 2009.
Watershed Management Plan
The York County Soil and Water Conservation District is leading a 2-year (2019–2021) effort to produce a watershed-based plan for the river. The effort is funded by a Nonpoint-Source grant from Maine DEP and coordinated by FB Environmental. Involved entities include:
- Town of Kennebunk
- Town of Kennebunkport
- Village of Arundel
- Town of Lyman
- Kennebunk, Kennebunkport, and Wells Water District
- Maine Department of Environmental Protection
- Maine Healthy Beaches Program
- Mousam and Kennebunk Rivers Alliance
- Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve
Kennebunk Conservation Commission
The commission sustains a healthy, livable community by protecting natural resources and by protecting streams, rivers, wetlands, and coastal waters from contaminants and encroachments.
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