In the spring of 2000 the Great Works River Watershed Survey Project was funded through the 319 program to produce an assessment report of nonpoint sources to determine specific sites to promote adoption of BMPs to achieve significant reductions of phosphorus loads to the Great Works River. Phosphorus loads from the Great Works River were determined, in a 1996 TMDL report, to have a detrimental effect on the Salmon Falls Estuary. This initial watershed survey project has escalated into something far greater than merely generating data - it has led to the formation of the Great Works River Watershed Coalition. The Coalition is comprised of citizens living and working in the watershed municipalities of Berwick, South Berwick, North Berwick, Sanford, Wells, and York in the southwest corner of Maine.

The survey began during the late summer, 2000 as a potentially overwhelming task. There were 68 square miles of land to survey (out of an 84 square mile watershed) and there was an absence of an active association or "friends of' group to draw volunteers from. Thankfully, the project Steering Committee provided excellent guidance and the final result has been extraordinary. Various adjustments were made throughout the course of the project to adjust to limitations that became apparent. For example, conducting a thorough survey of the 68 square mile lower watershed was unrealistic given the resources at hand. Therefore, the Steering Committee advised the project staff to limit survey work on private lands but still attempt to survey all that could be seen from the roadways in the watershed. This influenced the final product significantly as the majority of sites observed by volunteers and technical staff were located on state, town, and private roadways. Another example of flexibility and ingenuity to address the large size of the watershed was the decision to hold two separate training sessions and survey the southern and northern halves of the project area separately. An unexpected benefit of this decision was an increased number of people that were introduced to the project.

The design of this project was similar to many of the lake watershed survey projects in that there were training sessions on Saturday mornings with small volunteer groups (each accompanied by a technical leader) covering sectors. The watershed was divided into 11 sectors and volunteers were provided with topographical maps of their sector as well as GIS maps that highlighted possible "hot spots" for polluted runoff. The "hot spots" maps proved to be somewhat helpful, especially in eliminating large areas that did not need to be surveyed. Finally, during the spring of 2001 sites were re-evaluated by technical staff and entered into spreadsheets. After several drafts, sixty full-color final reports were printed in May of 2002 and distributed to citizens, agencies, and watershed municipalities.

An added benefit of the project that was not cited in the initial proposal to Maine DEP and the US Environmental Protection Agency was the printing of 1,000 summary brochures that served to describe the project and advertise the formation of the Great Works River Watershed Coalition. The Coalition was formed in May of 2001 as a result of this watershed survey project and has increased its capacity significantly with the assistance of several agency representatives including Forrest Bell and Deb St. Pierre (YCSWCD), Don Kale (Maine DEP), Marilyn Smith-Church (US EPA), and Sarah Gladu (Cooperative Extension). The Coalition currently has an active Board of Supervisors, twenty volunteer members, and monitors the water quality at 18 sites along the Great Works River and select tributaries. The Coalition has received funding support from the Maine Shore Stewards Program to build capacity and design their monitoring program. This field season, the Coalition will expand their monitoring parameters to include E. Coli bacteria, and possibly, Total Phosphorus.

The Coalition is more than a just a water quality monitoring organization, however. The members have co- sponsored Stream Habitat Walks with Maine DEP which will assist the GWRWC in learning more about the main stem of the Great Works River. The Coalition will also act as the Steering Committee for a NPS survey of the 16 square mile northern reaches of the watershed this spring and has combined efforts with the Bauneg Beg Lake Association. (Bauneg Beg is a waterbody which was formed as a result of the damming of the main stem of the Great Works River in Sanford and North Berwick). The GWRWC has been taking part in restoration activities funded under a 319 implementation project for Bauneg Beg and hopes to use this knowledge for writing a watershed management plan and conducting future restoration activities in some of the impaired Great Works River sub-watersheds.

For more information please contact Forrest Bell, Project Manager, Great Works River Watershed Coalition at 207-839-3511 (email: fbenviro@maine.rr.com).