8686-R1_ML&P_BuxtonAnnualReport_2022-2023_Web

SACO RIVER CORRIDOR COMMISSION “Communities Working Together to Protect Our Rivers”

The Saco River Corridor Commission (SRCC) was created with one purpose in mind – to protect the rivers in the Saco Basin and all that these rivers represent to the people who live and work here. The Maine legislature provided the performance standards to initiate our program, and the current cleanliness of the river is a testa ment to that effort. The Commission’s role is one of partnership with our communities, and our standards ap ply to the first 500-1000ft of land around the Saco, Ossipee, and Little Ossipee (i.e. the Corridor). All twenty towns with lands in the Corridor can appoint one regular and one alternate Commissioner, and we are grateful to have Benjamin Pinault from Buxton serving as Chair of the Commission at this time. Representation from Buxton means that your community is weighing in on development patterns along the rivers, from Fryeburg to Saco and south to Acton/Shapleigh. Together, representatives from our 20 municipalities help to keep the water clean and preserve natural resources, ultimately protecting public health and quality of life in our region. Clean water is one of Maine’s greatest assets, and our volunteer Commissioners work hard to ensure the Saco and its major tributaries are protected from unsustainable or incompatible development. Development in Maine has been booming in recent years. As areas are built up, inappropriate land-use plan ning can cause degradation to the shoreland area, along with water quality problems. The SRCC has kept up with the recent surge and continues to review each application for new development within the corridor for its compliance with the Saco River Corridor Act, and the best-practice standards that we know can protect our waterways. In 2023, the Commission carefully reviewed 119 applications for development within the Cor ridor. The SRCC has now completed its 22nd successful year of the Water Quality Monitoring Program. Staff and volunteers monitor for dissolved oxygen, conductivity, pH, turbidity, temperature, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, orthophosphates, alkalinity, nitrogen (NH4, NO3 + NO2), total phosphorous/phosphates, ammonium, and either Escherichia coli (E. coli) or Enterococci. Our testing takes place bi-weekly along the Saco, Ossipee, and Little Ossipee Rivers at 43 different locations from May through mid-September, with weekly E. coli testing at certain recreational sites from June to September. In 2022, SRCC purchased advanced bacteria monitoring equipment, which has expanded our capacity to analyze samples in-house and continued to serve us well in 2023. This means our reports are available faster, and towns can more quickly take action to advise the public when high levels of E. coli or Enterococci oc cur. With assistance from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, the Commission is also exploring applications of environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis, in hopes of developing a new method to determine the source of bacterial contamination. To help communicate water quality testing results to the public, the map available on our website will high light sites with recently elevated bacteria levels. The site also provides links to the most updated E. coli test results. While the monitoring program is currently at capacity for new sites, the SRCC is happy to discuss the possibility of expanding testing locations in future. We are especially grateful to our volunteer water quality monitors, who make our current set of testing locations possible. We encourage those interested in volunteer ing to contact us ahead of the April 2024 training dates, in hopes of expanding our monitoring capacity. The SRCC’s mission is to work with the communities of the Corridor to help keep the rivers clean and pre serve quality of life in southern Maine. If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions on any of the Commission’s programs, please contact the Commission’s office. The SRCC office is located at 81 Maple Street in Cornish, Maine, where we have staffed hours Monday Thursday, 9am-5pm. You can reach us at 207-625-8123 or srcc@srcc-maine.org, and you can find much more information on our website at www.srcc-maine.org. We thank Buxton for helping to protect the Saco River and its tributaries!

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