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Summertime in the BelgradesContentsfor Printing
Article Summaries |
Keeping Camp Road Runoff From Fouling Our Lakes
The Belgrade Lakes watershed contains nearly 450 camp roads, ranging from 100 yards to two miles in length. In the June 2004 issue of the Snow Pond / Messalonskee Lake Association's newsletter, Mike Little, Executive Director of the Belgrade Regional Conservation Alliance emphasized that every camp road is a potential threat to the quality of the lakes because many of them have little or no crown, poor to non-existent ditches, and failing culverts. Often they are also too steep. Having a good camp road association, supported by the property owners, is crucial. Camp roads should be graded twice a year, and new crushed gravel (not screened-crushed) should be added regularly. Ditches and water run-off diversions (such as water bars) should be added, and culverts should be replaced. If the slope is extreme, paving is an option that should be considered. With a strong and savvy local road association, the best use of annual road fees can be maximized. More importantly, the threat of algae blooms from non-point source pollution can be reduced. For more information, see the Snow Pond / Messalonskee Lake Association's June newsletter or this article on the Belgrade Lake Association's web site. | ||
