How We Protect Our Lake

Watershed Survey Moves Forward

The Crescent Lake Watershed Association (CLWA) partnered with FB Environmental and ME DEP to conduct a watershed survey on April 29th, 2024. The survey was conducted in two parts, two teams surveyed the shoreline by boat to assess the disturbance and
vulnerability of the shoreline area. Another two teams drove the watershed to identify sources of NPS erosion from roads.

When a site was found to be contributing polluted runoff into the lake, it was documented. Documentation included: description of the condition of the shoreline, location, land use type (driveway, town road, etc.), problem, size of the area, suggested Best Management Practice (solution), slope, and photos.

The watershed survey was voluntary and was not for enforcement purposes. The goal was to gather data to make informed decisions in how to continue to protect the lake’s water quality.

Twenty-three sites were identified during the watershed survey that are contributing polluted runoff to Crescent Lake. The sites were ranked on impact to the water quality based on the type of erosion, the size of the area, and if there was any buffer or filtration of the runoff. Seven sites were high impact, 9 were medium impact and 7 were low impact. The majority of the sites (39%) were on private roads, followed by driveways (26%). Erosion sites were identified all around the watershed, occurring on a total of 7 different types of land uses.

The shoreline survey assessed disturbance to the shoreline by evaluating vegetated buffer, bare soil, extent of shoreline erosion, proximity of structures to the lake, and slope of the shoreline area. The sum of these scores generated a “Shoreline Disturbance Score” and a “Shoreline Vulnerability Score”. 203 parcels were surveyed, and of those 92 properties were identified as having conditions detrimental to water quality, a shoreline disturbance score above 7. This data will be used to prioritize areas of shoreline for remediation.

Remediation plans are under development. Stay Tuned!

First Annual Water Quality Report

Raymond Waterways created this report for Raymond residents and visitors who want to understand the health of our lakes and ponds and learn what they can do to protect this most important natural resource.

A dedicated group of volunteers, supported by the lake associations, collect a variety of data relevant to lake health, some of which we present in this report. These individuals are your neighbors, and you may have seen them out on your lake peering into the water or lowering instruments to the deepest spots. As a team, they are committed to taking your lake’s vital signs as many as 10 times each season.

This report brings the findings of our volunteers to the Raymond public in a way that we hope will make it easy to understand what we know about lake health and the human factors that influence it now and in the future. We expect to make this an annual tradition to promote communication among lake associations and encourage all residents and visitors to be good stewards of Raymond’s waters.