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Lakes are an integral part of our landscape, covering more than a million acres of our state! Maine lakes provide immensely valuable habitat for fish and wildlife, numerous recreational opportunities for people, and drinking water for nearly one-third of our population. Many communities are defined in large measure by their lakes. People relate to lakes in a way that is profoundly important to them and their families.
Habitat and water quality of lakes are vital to both state and local economies. Lakes generate 3.5 billion dollars for Maine’s economy annually, including 52,000 Maine jobs. Tax revenues from shoreline properties are significant in many communities, thus deterioration of a lake can result in serious change to local economies. Restoration of a degraded lake is extremely expensive and is never as effective as protection. Invasive species are the most recently identified threat to Maine lakes and can alter human and wildlife use of a lake permanently.” Maine Department of Environmental Protection.
Here are a few resources to assist us in protecting our water quality.
Visit our friends at Lakes Environmental Association and Lake Stewards of Maine
.
Top Ten Ways to Protect Your Lake
What is a Watershed/ Town of Gray Resiliency Committee
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.