Watershed Assessment

A watershed is defined as an area of land that drains to a common water body. Depending on the scale of the watershed you are looking at this could be a small brook, a stream, a large river, or, for our purposes at LSM, a lake. Because the health of a lake is heavily influenced by the geologic makeup, land use activities, and level of development that takes place in that lake’s watershed, it is a critical aspect to understand for stewardship activities.

To help address issues taking place in the watershed, LSM offers several trainings and provides educational resources.

For more information about watersheds, please look at our watershed FAQs document. It can be found HERE.

LSM offers watershed assessment trainings annually in conjunction with Maine DEP staff. More information pertaining to these trainings can be found HERE.

Additional Resources:

• Information compiled by the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection related to watersheds, including general information, best management practices, example projects, and funding opportunities. This is a Maine specific resource. https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/materials.html
• Compilation of all the watersheds in Maine, providing history and contact information for local organizations. This is operated by the Maine Rivers non-profit organization. This is a Maine specific resource. https://mainerivers.org/watershed-profiles/
• Summary information about watersheds composed by the Maine Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). It also includes an explanation of the DEP’s involvement with the community and the related projects. This is a Maine specific resource. https://www.maine.gov/dep/land/watershed/index.html
• One of the most well known best management practices at the residential scale, rain gardens reduce runoff on a property, thereby protecting watershed water quality. The article explains the different types of pollutant removal mechanisms and the pollutants removed. The design blueprints, steps, and suggested plant lists to build a rain garden are provided. This is a Maine specific resource. https://extension.umaine.edu/publications/2702e/
• LakeSmart is an education and outreach program that rewards lakefront homeowners who manage their land to protect water quality. The program is free, non-regulatory, and voluntary. Participating homeowners receive individualized suggestions for keeping pollutants from stormwater out of lake waters. LakeSmart is operated by the Maine Lakes non-profit organization. This is a Maine specific resource. https://www.lakes.me/lakesmart
• List of resources and examples compiled by the US Environmental Protection Agency. These recommended case studies and practices employed have a documented reduction to runoff in watersheds. https://www.epa.gov/soakuptherain/soak-rain-whats-problem
• NALMS is a national organization of lake professionals, academics, associations, and volunteers. The link provides a general overview of proper planning for lake and watershed management. https://www.nalms.org/home/lake-management-planning/
• Short video by the American Society of Landscape Architects explaining how watershed management ties closely to environmental policies. https://vimeo.com/269112792
• Information compiled by the US Environmental Protection Agency related to watersheds, including general information, best management practices, example projects, and funding opportunities. https://www.epa.gov/hwp
• Overview, created by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of what defines a watershed and the properties that make watersheds vulnerable to pollution. https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/freshwater/watersheds-flooding-and-pollution
• Synopsis of what a watershed is and its properties in a landscape; created by US Geological Survey. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/watersheds-and-drainage-basins
• Summary of the defining characteristics of a watershed with links to related material; created by the US National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/oceans/wetland-watershed.htm
• Short article defining a watershed by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/watershed.html