Ponds In Our Watershed

Overview

    The 19-mile Pemaquid River starts at Tobias Pond in Waldoboro and ends at Johns Bay, Bristol, Maine. The Pemaquid River watershed covers parts of six towns and is 46.9 square miles in size, of which 5.4 sq miles is water and 41.5 sq miles is land.
    There are 11 ponds in the Pemaquid River watershed. From north to south, they are:

1. Tobias Pond (11 acres)
2. Duckpuddle Pond (242 acres)
3. Pemaquid Pond (1,441 acres)
4. Little Pond (83 acres)
5. Muddy Pond aka "Paradise Pond" (148 acres)
6. McCurdy Pond (205 acres)
7. Biscay Pond (358 acres)
8. Little Biscay Pond (15 acres)
9. Boyd Pond (57 acres)
10. Ross Pond (16 acres)
11. Hastings Pond (9 acres)

Webber Pond (number 12 on the map) does lie within PWA's service area although it is not in the Pemaquid River watershed proper. Webber Pond covers 220 acres.

    The Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program monitors the water quality of Biscay, Boyd, Duckpuddle, Little Pond, McCurdy, Pemaquid, and Paradise Ponds (see VLMP list of ponds – be patient as this page takes a little while to display).
    In 2009, PWA commissioned a report "2009 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment of McCurdy Pond". The report is available here as a pdf file (0.8 Mb).
    PWA commissioned a report "2008 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment of Pemaquid and Biscay Ponds", available here as a pdf file (0.3 Mb).
    The final report on a 2004 Volunteer Watershed Survey of Biscay-LIttle-McCurdy ponds is available here as a pdf file (3.5 Mb).
    The final report on a 2003 Volunteer Watershed Survey of Pemaquid Pond is available here as a pdf file (2.5 Mb).

Water Quality Overview of the Pemaquid Ponds: A report for PWA by Scott Williams, aquatic biologist for the Lake and Watershed Resource Management Associates in Turner, Maine. December, 2007

This report is intended to provide an overview of the historical water quality data for six bodies of water in the Pemaquid peninsula area: Biscay, Boyd, Duck-puddle, McCurdy, Paradise, and Pemaquid Ponds. The report also considers the implications of a number of water-quality-related ratings and designa-tions for each of the water bodies. Download the report in pdf format: full report with photos (~ 3.5 Mb) or a smaller file without photos (~ 0.8 Mb).

Duckpuddle Pond 2008

We recently completed a survey of Duckpuddle Pond. The final report with photos and recom-mendations is available here as a pdf file (2.5 Mb), well worth the download. A brief overview follows below.
     In the spring of 2008, local volunteers and technical staff teamed to survey the 8.5 square miles of Waldoboro and Nobleboro called the Duckpuddle Pond Watershed. This is all the land that contributes runoff – clean and dirty – to the pond. Duckpuddle Pond has impaired water quality due to its reoccurring nuisance algal blooms. Algae blooms occur when there are excess nutrients, particularly phosphorus, in the pond. Soil and sediment contain phosphorus and when they erode from the watershed into the pond, they release phosphorus and feed the algae, decreasing water clarity.
     Since such erosion is one of the greatest sources of phosphorus to Duckpuddle Pond, the survey team identified, documented, and rated the 45 erosion sites that are impacting or have the potential to impact the water quality of the pond. Recommendations to fix each erosion source using erosion control practices and approximate cost (if any) to fix the problems were also outlined – such as runoff diverters, increased vegetation, road maintenance including grading and drainage.
     If you suspect an erosion problem on your property and need help, please contact
Knox-Lincoln Soil & Water Conservation District at 273-2005 x101, or Kathy Ward at kathy.ward@me.nacdnet.net, or www.knox-lincoln.org.
    For more information about the pond’s water quality and responsible stewardship, join the Pemaquid Watershed Association and participate in PWA's annual gatherings called "Duckpuddle Ponders", where neighbors come together to getto know one another and to discuss pond stewardship. Contact the PWA at 563-2196, or e-mail to info@pemaquidwatershed.org.

McCurdy Pond 2009 Baseline Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report:

The following is an excerpt from the report, which may be downloaded from a link below.

At the request of the Pemaquid Watershed Association, Lake and Watershed Resource Management Associates (LWRMA) conducted baseline sampling of McCurdy Pond in late August, 2009. The purpose of this project was to gather lake water quality data for the pond to evaluate present conditions, and to compare the information with historical data for the waterbody.
     In addition to the samples and readings that we collected on August 27, data were gathered by a volunteer lake monitor who has been certified to collect lake data by the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program. The volunteer data have been included in our analysis. Data obtained in 2009 were also compared to similar results from several
hundred lakes throughout Maine that were sampled during the same period.
     The primary focus of sampling McCurdy Pond was to obtain water quality information that reflects the extent towhich development pressures in the watershed may be influ-encing the aquatic system. Watershed development is generally considered to be the most pervasive threat to the health of Maine's lakes and ponds.
     The primary effect of watershed develop-ment on lakes and ponds is increasing bio-logical productivity, caused by the inflow of the nutrient phosphorus in stormwater runoff from areas that have been altered from their naturally occurring state. Phosphorus stimu-lates the growth of algae, which in turn re-duces water clar ity. Water clarity has consis-tently been identified in public surveys as the most valued attribute of lakes and ponds. Shorefront property values have been strongly linked to the clarity of Maine lakes.

Download the full report here (0.8 Mb pdf file).