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Waterlines is a publication of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research at the University of Maine Contents:
Governor
Baldacci, Senator Mitchell & President Hoff to Speak at 2004 Water
Conference...
A juried student poster exhibit will award prizes for both the best undergraduate and best graduate poster. Student posters and other exhibits by organizations, agencies, departments, consultants and businesses are available for viewing during lunch and breaks. Registration for the Maine Water Conference is only $35 and includes lunch, all conference sessions and break snacks. Exhibitors should go to the exhibitor information page for registration information. For additional conference information, e-mail UMGMC@maine.edu or call 207/581-3196
Maine Water Conference Sponsors
Supporters:
The Mitchell Center's Watershed Research Laboratory currently
resides in Holmes Hall, a short walk from the Center's main offices.
In late 2004, the laboratory will move to its permanent home in
Norman Smith Hall, and all components of the Mitchell Center will be
housed under one roof.
Friends of the Mitchell Center Paul & Yvette Mitchell GHM Agency Barbara Atkins Consumers Maine Water Company Friends of Acadia Dr. John Alexander Kleinschmidt Associates Nale Law Offices Christopher Stone Clinton B. Townsend
Maine lakes and streams serve as significant sources of public water supply, serving 40 % of the population. Drought affects surface water resources by reducing water quantity and altering water quality, for example by reducing inputs of materials from the watershed and increasing water residence times. The 2001-2002 drought was the worst in Maine in over thirty years, and it exposed deficiencies in current water resources planning and management. Schmitt’s thesis project looked at the effects of the 2001-2002 drought on Maine public water systems in order to identify systems likely to be vulnerable to future droughts. Her research included:
A key finding was that drought conditions or low lake levels alone were not enough to drive a system to implement water conservation measures; increased demand had to occur simultaneously. Forty-five of approximately 400 public groundwater systems and eight of 68 surface water systems were affected by the drought, although most systems experienced below-average water levels. Neither drought conditions nor environmental factors such as morphometry or geology were enough to cause a system to be adversely affected by the drought; instead, the drought affected systems that were withdrawing volumes of water in excess of their safe yield in order to satisfy demand. No one knows when the next drought will strike, but Schmitt’s research on the effects of the 2001-2002 drought indicates that public surface water systems that already operate close to capacity and that experience seasonal increases in demand are most likely to encounter difficulties in a variable and uncertain climate.
Click here for additional
information on Catherine's research.
Dams represent the greatest impediment to the increase of salmon populations in Maine, according to a national report released earlier this year. The National Research Council, which released the report, was charged with assessing the status of Atlantic salmon populations after salmon in eight Maine rivers were listed under the Endangered Species Act in 2000. Maine is home to most of the Atlantic salmon remaining in the United States, 90% of which return to the Penobscot River. Yet in recent years, less than 1,000 Atlantic salmon have returned to Maine rivers. In addition to dams, which obstruct salmon passage up and down streams and contribute to habitat degradation, the report also found that the mortality of young salmon in estuaries and at sea is a serious problem. While the cause of excess mortality is still uncertain, acidification of streams may be contributing to the decline in salmon populations. Scientists at the Mitchell Center, with funding from the Atlantic Salmon Commission and the USGS, have been working to assess water quality in Downeast salmon rivers. Part of this research project is to collect data on water chemistry variables such as acidity, aluminum, dissolved organic carbon, and base cations as well as evaluating existing long-term chemical databases to identify recent trends in water quality. The NRC’s Committee on Atlantic Salmon had already established, in an interim report released in 2002, that the salmon in Maine’s rivers listed as endangered are genetically distinct populations. The new report reviews available scientific information on the status of Atlantic salmon, and ranks the current threats to population increases. The report makes a significant contribution to efforts to reverse the decline in Atlantic salmon populations, including research at the Mitchell Center. The report also provides recommendations in support of current river restoration efforts such as the Penobscot River Restoration Project. The report, Atlantic Salmon in Maine, is available online from the National Academy Press at www.nap.edu. Photograph of Randy Spencer, Fishery Biologist, ASC, courtesy of the Atlantic Salmon Commission DID YOU KNOW? The Mitchell Center is looking for a few
“gently-used” cars for field and other research-related work. The photo on the right is of our Nissan Pathfinder which was generously donated to the Center by Paul Haertel. As you can see, we put it to very good use! THE BUZZ AT THE MITCHELL CENTER Front
page profile in Bangor Daily News for Mitchell Center Director
Steve Kahl
Mitchell
Center student receives NALMS conference “Best Student Poster”
award
Under the direction of Peter Vaux, the first
priority is to enable the incorporation of stream and river data into
PEARL. This will allow newly digitized IF&W stream population and
habitat data, and biological data from the Maine Aquatic
Biodiversity Project to be uploaded into PEARL. In addition, major
site revisions will enhance the user-friendliness of this
data-sharing ‘forum’. This will include development of customized
information interfaces
for two targeted user-group such as anglers and educators/students.
The event is a collaborative effort involving the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research and the College of Education and Human Development at UMaine, state agencies, water suppliers and businesses. The goal, according to Barbara Welch of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, is to engage students in learning about Maine’s water resources. Those resources include lakes, rivers, wetlands, estuaries and groundwater. For additional information on the Children's Water Festival, or if you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring the event, please contact Ruth Hallsworth at the Mitchell Center (581-3196). July declared Lake Appreciation Month Waterlines moves to the web If you would like to submit an article for
publication in Waterlines, please contact us at 207/581-3244 or
UMGMC@maine.edu. |
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The theme for this year's Maine Water Conference, "Environmental
legacies as a context for emerging issues", has drawn the interest
of both Senator Mitchell and Governor Baldacci - both have agreed to
speak at the conference which will take place Wednesday, April 21 at
the Augusta Civic Center.
Senator Mitchell will speak on his signature legislation, the Clean
Air Act, leading into a discussion on the legacy of environmental
protection. Governor Baldacci is expected to discuss the
environmental initiatives of his administration, and the legacy and
future of Maine's environment. University of Maine President Peter
Hoff will introduce Governor Baldacci and will speak on the history
and importance of environmental research at the University.
Other speakers at the 
PEARL
moves ahead
