There are many things you can do yourself to help the watershed and the Lewiston/Auburn drinking water supply. Even the smallest actions can have positive impacts, and we would love to help you navigate the most tangible approach for you.
Property Evaluations
Contact Watershed Staff to set up a no-cost assessment for your property and to receive tailored recommendations, small or large.
Stormwater Evaluations
All residents in Lake Auburn’s watershed can request a no-cost property consultation assessing stormwater runoff on their properties. The evaluation will focus on sources of erosion and provide recommendations to reduce erosion and runoff, containing it to the property or filtering it to the best extent possible. Other recommendations will be made regarding lawn care and other property maintenance activities, and information on all local and state regulations will be made available. The Watershed Manager will provide continued technical assistance to property owners who wish to implement recommendations.
Shorelines Assessments
Shoreline property owners, whether situated on Lake Auburn and its upper ponds or any of its tributaries, may request a shoreline assessment. This assessment is similar to a stormwater evaluation but focuses most of the evaluation on the potential for erosion on the shoreline area and makes recommendations for stabilization, using the State’s OUR SHORE guidance for nature-based solutions. Both the Stormwater and Shoreline assessments can be completed, at no-cost, during the same visit. Both of these programs are vital to watershed protection, as erosion control is our most important goal aside from land conservation itself. For shoreline properties, there may be project assistance available.
One-on-One Property Consultation
If any property owner would like a property consultation to simply ask questions about any property concerns, ask for specific recommendations, or speak more about protection options to be done by the resident independently or in partnership with LAWPC, an appointment can be made for this type of visit with the Watershed Manager similarly to the other assessments.
Conserving Your Property
In total, LAWPC has conserved 2,469 acres of the 12,041-acre watershed, which is more than 20% of the land in the watershed. Of this total, 54,867 feet of shoreline on Lake Auburn, or 77%, of the total shoreline has been protected, as well as 18,629 feet of shoreline on the Basin, which totals 70% of the overall shoreline. LAWPC has conserved additional shoreline frontage on Little Wilson Pond and worked in partnership on nearby conservation projects.
This type of land conservation is vital for the protection of water quality, as forest and wetlands offer natural areas of absorption and filtration. These areas slow the flow of water during precipitation events, preventing erosion. These areas also act as natural filters, trapping sediment before it moves into the water, reducing the number of pollutants entering the water. This supports healthy aquatic ecosystems and a clean drinking water supply.
Our goal is to continue LAWPC’s land protection program to grow the percentage of vital conservation lands contributing to water quality protection in the Lake Auburn watershed. The biggest impact is made when contiguous lands are conserved. If you would like to consider selling or donating part or all of your land or establishing a protective conservation easement to be part of making such an important impact, I would like to make the time to connect with you about this at your convenience to discuss resources and various options.
These processes take a long time. You may be thinking of this for five or ten – or even 20 or 30 – years in the future, but we can help you with the tools, process, and planning now. We can help you help Lake Auburn and your community. I know this is not a good option for many property owners, for varying reasons. Fortunately, LAWPC has several other meaningful no-cost programs you may be interested in that can still help you contribute in the efforts toward protecting Lake Auburn, and our staff would be happy to assist you.
Volunteer Opportunities:
Become a watershed steward! We are always looking for community members to get involved! We have volunteer opportunities ranging from trail work and maintenance, event staffing, photography, citizen science opportunities and more!
Get in touch with our Outreach Coordinator, Phoebe Hopkins, to inquire about volunteer opportunities here.
