From June through August 2002, MDIWQC conducted a watershed survey of Eddie Brook with the help of students and volunteers from the community. Information on potential impacts of bacteria, toxics, sediments, and nutrients was collected. One key finding of the study was that sedimentation and runoff are major problems. Eddie Brook is the embodiment of what happens to brooks running through urban areas. Urban brooks are often re-routed, sent underground, used as storm water conduits, and end up being convenient dumping grounds for both solid and liquid wastes. Eddie brook has a history that holds meaning for people who grew up in the watershed. It has provided solace, enjoyment, recreation, and a place for nature studies. Eddie Brook empties into an area of Bar Harbor known as the “guzzle” This area is adjacent to a rich clam flat on the Bar that has been closed due to pollution. Some of the pollutants are clearly coming from Eddie Brook itself. This shellfish resource was available to residents prior to the 1970s and could be again if water quality issues in Eddie Brook can be resolved, restoring a $135,000 per year resource to the community according to recent surveys of the clamflats.

MDIWQC is working with the Hancock County Soil and Water Conservation District to design projects what will prevent runoff and sedimentation in the brook.

Goals

The Eddie Brook Watershed Management plan aims to restore brook and clamflat habitats through pollution prevention via community members voluntarily changing detrimental behaviors. It has three major goals:

• Engage citizens in the process ofsurveying the Eddie Brook Watershed and analyzing watershed survey results to identify non-point source pollution problems,

• Identify priority sites and develop an action plan to make improvements,

• Increase citizen awareness and get more people involved in preserving and improving water quality in Eddie Brook.

The first goal was accomplished by implementing The Eddie Brook Watershed Survey in accordance with Maine DEP’s A Citizen’s Guide to Coastal Watershed Surveys. The watershed was broken up into sectors.
Binders with maps and data sheets for each sector were assembled. Teams of 2-3 citizen volunteers were assigned to each sector.

The second goal was accomplished by analysis of the watershed survey data. When surveys were complete, the data was entered into an Access database and was assessed for non-point source pollution problems. The data was linked to GIS maps of the watershed and the properties were color-coded by the type of pollutant observed. A qualitative impact assessment was done by taking into account a number of factors: how many different pollutants were observed at the site, the comments of the surveyors as to the condition of the property, and photographs taken of the property.

The third goal was accomplished by informing citizens through community meetings distributing informational materials (brochures) during the survey process, press coverage, preparing and distributing this report, and by including Bar Harbor residents in the survey process. Landowners will be encouraged to reduce soil erosion by planting vegetative buffers. Citizens will be encouraged to reduce pollution in storm water runoff by limiting their use of fertilizers and eliminating toxic substances from their properties.
Our hope is that through a commitment to assess and mitigate the impact of pollutants from their own properties, local citizens will be motivated to develop and support a Watershed Management Plan.

Results

Of the 8 surveyed watershed sectors, there were 23 properties that had the potential for or evidence of toxic substance inputs to the brook. There were 13 properties that raised concern in terms of bacteria inputs to the brook. Fifty-eight properties were of concern in terms of the nutrient input to Eddie Brook.
The survey teams identified 68 properties in the Eddie Brook Watershed that had sediments entering or the potential for sediments to enter Eddie Brook. Sediments are clearly having the largest impact on Eddie Brook of the four pollutant types.

Recommendations

The MDI Water Quality Coalition will use the results of the Eddie Brook Watershed Survey to engage citizens in projects to improve the water quality in Eddie Brook and in Frenchman Bay, where Eddie Brook empties out. In the process, degraded habitat will be improved and local species of fish, frog, and salamander may become re-established in Eddie Brook. According to the findings of this survey, landowners in the watershed need to take action in order to correct problems and ensure the future of Eddie Brook.

1. Landowners would benefit from a watershed management plan, which involves yearly clean-ups in the brook, vegetative buffer plantings in eroded areas, a commitment to communicating with the town about the condition of roads, and provisions for land conservation.

2. Landowners should implement best practices on their property, limiting their use of fertilizers and pesticides, picking up garbage, composting away from the brook, picking up dog feces, maintaining gravel driveways, refraining from washing cars and lawn furniture where runoff will end up in storm drains or directly in the brook, and re-planting after erosion or loss of trees.

3. Landowners should approach construction projects with care, consulting with the DEP about how best to mitigate runoff into the brook when soil has been disturbed.