BRIDGTON — The Woods Pond Water Quality Committee is looking for volunteers for a survey of Woods Pond later this month.
Local residents are welcome to take a short class at the Lakes Environmental Association office in Bridgton before setting off to look for possible erosion sites around the pond that could lead to algae blooms clouding the water.
The goal of the effort isn’t enforcement but education, according to Jeff Stern of the Lakes Environmental Association. Erosion allows phosphorus into lakes, which feeds algae and can lead to what environmentalists call “China Lake Syndrome,” when algae clouds up an entire lake and makes swimming and boating unpleasant.
The group is surveying the entire watershed, not just the lake shore, Stern said, because erosion far from the shore can dump phosphorus into the pond through tributaries and drainage ditches. Phosphorus is commonly found in fertilizers.
Volunteers will start at 9 a.m. April 28 with a short class on detecting erosion problems. Then, they’ll set out to examine the 3,300-acre watershed for potential erosion spots. The Woods Pond Water Quality Committee will compile the data with the goal of publishing a report next winter.
The Lakes Environmental Association, the town of Bridgton, Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, Portland Water District and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection are also involved in the project.
Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Jeff Stern, project coordinator, at 595-0317 or jmstern110@roadrunner.com.
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