Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2007ME131B

Reducing Pollution to Urban Streams through Business Friends Incentives

Institute: Maine
Year Established: 2007 Start Date: 2008-03-01 End Date: 2009-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $12,027 Total Non-Federal Funds: $46,271

Principal Investigators: Laura Wilson, Christopher Brewer, John Jemison, Mark Ward, Wendy Warren

Project Summary: Stormwater Phase II communities (including the City of Bangor) under permit requirements from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and the United States Environmental Protection Agency are required to work with landowners and land managers to reduce the export of nonpoint pollutants. Many Stormwater Phase II communities are currently targeting individual homeowners in order to reduce excessive inputs of lawn care nutrients. Using the successful Englesby Brook example from Vermont, we intend to target larger-scale land managers, such as those who manage landscapes of businesses, institutions and apartment complexes, to achieve input reduction on a larger scale per individual lot. Using incentives such as demonstrated cost savings and recognition in the community for managing their land in a stream-friendly manner, we anticipate the business and institutional landowners in the Birch Stream watershed will willingly reduce their nutrient inputs to the landscape. A reduction of nutrient inputs to the landscape will reduce stormwater pollution export to the urban-impaired Birch Stream, a tributary of the Kenduskeag Stream and Penobscot River. This pilot project will set the stage for Stormwater Phase II communities to readily (and at low cost) replicate this effort elsewhere in Maine and beyond.