This section of our website will provide ongoing information about our Watchic Lake Protection plan progress and with our Maine DEP 319 grant.

 

Completed 2020 Watchic Lake Watershed Protection Plan. 

December 2022

We are pleased to announce that all work on our Watchic Lake Protection Project has been completed and approved by Maine DEP. Through the projects, an estimated 2.33 tons of sediment and 1.99 pounds of phosphorus will be prevented from washing into Watchic Lake each year. 112.5 feet of streambank or shoreline will be protected. These reductions will help maintain good water quality leading to better quality of life for all on the lake.

Working together with the Maine DEP, these projects have been a win-win for everyone on the lake. With access to DEP funds, the WLA has been able to educate lake users, and property owners have been able to use best management practices beneficial to Watchic Lake’s health and help maintain their property values. We want to thank all involved, road associations, residential property owners, Kiwanis Beach, the Town of Standish, Cumberland County Soil and Water Division and Maine DEP for making this project a success and protecting Watchic Lake.

Click or touch here for our Letter of Completion from the Director of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Click or touch here for our Final Project Report submitted to Maine DEP.

2020 Watchic Lake Watershed Protection Plan

In late 2019 WLA, with help from FB Environmental, completed its 2020 Watchic Lake Watershed Protection Plan (an update of the 1999 watershed protection plan). After many reviews with the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, our plan has been approved (click here for the letter).

EPA and DEP approval of this plan was a major milestone, as it allowed us to apply for Federal funds to make improvements in and around the lake. Our application was completed in early 2020.

Section 319 Grant Approved

In October of 2020, the Maine DEP and the US EPA approved our application for funds to improve Watchic Lake water quality by reducing polluted runoff into the lake. This is great news for the lake and for property owners wishing to leverage federal funds to improve their property. One of the reasons the grant was approved is the broad support Watchic Lake property owners shoe the lake and the association – thank you!

This matching grant is designed to support two town culvert improvements, three road association improvements, and about six residential property improvements. This grant encompasses work totaling $124,434, with Federal funds of $74,732, and matching funds/time of $49,802 coming from property owners and/or the WLA.  The DEP is flexible on the exact projects and the exact work at each project.  Click or touch here for the Full Work Plan: Maine DEP Watchic Lake Protection Project, Phase I.

Start date for grant activities will be January 1, 2021 with completion date of December 31, 2022. Our goal is to do as many of these projects as we can in 2021.

The WLA has begun to reach out to road associations, the town, and property owners to review project ideas and funding. Final project plans will done only with agreement from impacted property owners.

We want to thank the Maine DEP and US EPA for their advice and support in securing this grant.

Specifically, we note that funding for the projects in the work plan, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. The funding is administered by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA. The EPA does not endorse any commercial products or services mentioned in the work plan.

Public Notice – Request for Qualifications

The WLA is also in the process of securing the noted engineering and environment consultants required for this project.

The Watchic Lake Association (WLA) is inviting responses from private sector consultants interested in entering into an agreement to administer projects related to grant funding issued by the State of Maine DEP titled “Watchic Lake Protection Project, Phase I.”  Submission Deadline: January 15, 2021 no later than 4:00 p.m.; contract award: January 29, 2021; and project finish: December 31, 2022.

Click our touch here for the full request document. Watchic Lake Request for Qualifications.

Thank you in advance for your support of this project!