Have you ever considered why Boothbay is the only one of the seven major Midcoast peninsulas that has a sizable town at its end? It’s because Boothbay is the only peninsula that has a public water supply. The surface water found towards the end of the Boothbay peninsula in Adams Pond and the Knickerbocker Lakes simply does not exist in such quantity on the other Midcoast peninsulas. And for more than 150 years, Boothbay’s public water supply has been critical to its economic health.
Starting as far back as 1869, residents of the Boothbay peninsula began to plan for a public water supply. Disputes over funding a water system led to Boothbay Harbor’s separation from Boothbay in 1889. It was also in 1889 when the predecessor to the Boothbay Region Water District first acquired rights to use the water in Adams Pond.