The Boothbay Region Clean Drinking Water Initiative to protect the local water supply is receiving American Rescue Plan Act funds via Lincoln County. The initiative consists of Southport, Boothbay and Boothbay Harbor, as well as Boothbay Region Land Trust, Bigelow Laboratory, Boothbay Region Water District, Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, Knickerbocker Lake Association and Boothbay Region YMCA.
On Oct. 4, county commissioners approved a $195,000 grant to cover the group’s administrative costs for three years. The initiative wants to protect Knickerbocker Lake and Adams Pond from further pollutant contamination by safeguarding the drinking water source’s watershed. Hal Moorefield is a BRCDWI member. He wrote the letter in April seeking county ARPA funding. “These lakes supply 200 million gallons of water per year to the peninsula. Since 1989, the Maine DEP has designated these lakes as ‘threatened’ due to ongoing human development and associated pollution,” he wrote.