2015 Mare Brook Watershed Assessment

On July 1, 2015, the Town of Brunswick received a Coastal Communities Planning Grant in the amount of $47,925 to engage the community in an assessment of the Mare Brook watershed. Mare Brook (also known as Mere Brook) is considered an urban impaired stream for non-attainment, or failure to meet the State of Maine’s water quality standards. The headwaters of Mare Brook are located in freshwater wetlands on the west side of Mathew Drive in Brunswick. Mare Brook meanders through town in an easterly direction to Brunswick Landing (the former Brunswick Naval Air Station), and out to sea in Harpswell Cove, one of the most important shellfish growing areas in the region. 

Mare Brook receives water from several sources including discharged groundwater, precipitation (rain and snow) and associated runoff from developed and undeveloped land, and many tributary streams and freshwater wetlands. On a regional scale, much of the Town of Brunswick, including Mare Brook and Harpswell Cove are part of the Casco Bay watershed. This project aims to improve understanding of the challenges facing Mare Brook and develop recommendations for mitigating those challenges to improve water quality and protect the economic value of a shellfish growing area that produces 2,500 bushels of softshell clams annually.

Technical Advisory Committee

As part of the project, a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) was formed to oversee the technical elements of the project, and the report of findings. All TAC meetings are recorded and made available to the public through the Town of Brunswick’s local television network (TV3). The TAC is expected to assist the hired consultant team with the refinement of a Sampling and Analysis Plan (SAP); the development of a method for stressor analysis; the refinement of field methods for a stream corridor assessment and stormwater retrofit reconnaissance survey; and the development of the Mare Brook Baseline and Best Management Practices Report.

Schedule

A total of three public TAC meetings will be scheduled with the consultant team at various project milestones (project ends December 2016); and two public stakeholder meetings to engage the community in the project. View the Mare Brook Watershed Assessment Schedule 2016 (PDF).

Members

TAC members include representatives from the:

• Bowdoin College
• Brunswick Area Citizens for a Safe Environment (BACSE)
• Brunswick-Topsham Land Trust (BTLT)
• Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
• Department of the Navy
• Friends of Casco Bay
• Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT)
• Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
• Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA)
• Staff from the Town of Brunswick
• Town of Brunswick Conservation Commission
• Town of Brunswick Planning Board

Additional Information

For more details about the Mare Brook Watershed Assessment and Community Engagement Project or to obtain information about participating in the project, Please email the Town Planner, Jared Woolston, or call 207-725-6660, ext. 4022.