Watershed and shorefront residential development is a significant threat
to Togus Pond’s water quality.
Sign up for the LakeSmart Program!
What is LakeSmart?
LakeSmart is the flagship program sponsored by Maine Lakes, a statewide organization dedicated to protecting lakes, ponds, and watersheds throughout its network of 130 member lake associations.
LakeSmart is a free and voluntary educational program to help property owners protect lake water quality and preserve their property values.
With your permission, a trained volunteer from the WLA will walk your property with you and help assess how your property contributes rain runoff into the pond and discuss some low-cost ways to minimize that runoff.
Signing up for a LakeSmart visit is easy. If you would like to participate let us know and a WLA trained LakeSmart volunteer will contact you to set up a property visit.
Email us at restoretoguspond@gmail.com to sign up!
Why is Lakesmart important?
There are 250+ lakefront properties on Togus Pond, and all of them contribute stormwater runoff that carries nutrients into the pond.
One tiny rivulet from one rainstorm may not seem like much, but when multiplied across the pond’s watershed and added up over decades, the result can lead to algae blooms, fish kills, loss of water clarity and spawning habitat, and a pea-green mess that no one wants to swim in. Togus Pond experienced serious algal blooms over the years.
Stormwater runoff is the number one cause for our lake’s algae blooms!
LakeSmart is one of the most effective lake protection programs available today. It encourages waterfront homeowners to use natural landscaping strategies to protect the health of the lake. While an alum treatment will help in the short term, the most effective long-term strategy is for every property owner to adopt best management practices on their own property.
You can learn more about LakeSmart on their website here.
For more information about Shoreline Landscaping for Lake protection visit the Maine DEP site here.
Check out this video about improving your property for lake health. Produced by KWLA LakeSmart team! Video link
More - How to videos for improving your property.
Investing in Maine lakes is important for Maine’s environment and economy.
Maine’s lakes, especially those with clean, clear water, are also a strong economic driver. A recent study by researchers at the University of Maine estimates the value of Maine’s lakes to be $14.1 billion, with an additional $3 billion in related spending each year.
Take a look at the data here from a University of Maine study on the economic impact of clean lakes.
You can make a difference!
LakeSmart is about taking simple actions to protect your lake. There are many Best Management Practices (BMPs) you can put in place that will “slow the flow” and give rainwater a chance to soak into the ground (infiltrate) before reaching the lake. Some BMPs can be done in an afternoon, some might take years, but all are investments in long-term lake health.
While there are many BMPs that will help reduce your property’s contributions of phosphorus into the lake, planting deep swaths of native vegetation along the shoreline, beside paths and on the down- hill side of driveways and parking areas is one of the easiest ways to infiltrate runoff and “slow the flow.”
Buffers with many tiers of vegetation (duff (needles and leaves), ground cover, shrubs, mid- story trees and canopy trees) provide the most protection, and a buffer can beautifully frame your lake view. The multiple tiers of vegetation intercept more rain, and the deep roots of native plants help absorb rainwater and extract phosphorus.
More Buffer Less Lawn
An expansive lawn does not offer the same benefit for infiltrating stormwater as other types of native, deep-rooted vegetation.
Reduce your lawn to the parts you use for recreation, and let the rest go wild. You can supplement the no-mow areas with beautiful native shrubs and flowering plants that are visually appealing, attract pollinators and enhance property value. You can also leave twigs, leaves and pine needles (collectively called “duff”) on the ground to enhance the capacity of your buffer to “slow the flow.”
Resources for planting shoreline buffers and selecting native plants.
What is a buffer?
Vegetative shoreland buffers, located along lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, and ponds are the single most effective protection for water quality, lake ecosystems, and essential wildlife habitat. These strips of vegetation, which include ground covers, herbaceous plants, shrubs, and trees, as well as the organic matter that accumulates on the ground, serve as transitional areas where land and water meet to create unique and highly productive ecosystems. - The Federation of Vermont Lakes and Ponds
Resource Guides
“It’s hard to believe one person’s expansive lawn or eroding camp road could be a threat to something as large and enduring as a lake. But it can when added to a shoreline full of similar sites.
All stormwater that gets into a lake carries nutrients. Over time, the cumulative impact can be thousands of pounds of pollutants. The result, “death by a thousand cuts,” means algae blooms, fish kills, and the loss of water clarity and spawning habitat. One tiny rivulet from one rainstorm may not seem like much, but when multiplied across a lake’s watershed and added up over decades, eroded soil can turn a lake into a smelly, pea green mess.”
– Maggie Shannon, Maine Lakes Society