Watchic Lake Assoc. Secures Large Grant from Maine DEP and US EPA

In late 2020, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the US Environmental Protection Agency 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.

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.

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. The WLA is also in the process of securing the noted engineering and environment consultants required for this project. You can find more in our Request for Qualifications document.

You can find the full work plan here: Maine DEP Watchic Lake Protection Project, Phase I.

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.

WLA – History of Action Oriented Stewardship

  • Beginning in 2006, developed plans to protect Watchic Lake over the long term, and then executed against those plans.
  • Installed a runoff management system along Route 113 to stop toxic cyanobacteria blooms.
  • Made major repairs to the dam – designed 25 years of service.
  • Worked with the Hi-Vu and Dorothy Drive road associations to address key sources of runoff into the lake.
  • In early 2019 completed its 2020 Watchic Lake Watershed Protection Plan.
  • This grant from the Maine DEP and US EPA are recent examples of the work the WLA does to help protect the lake.