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A Harpswell fisherman once described Harpswell’s working waterfront as its Main Street. Like any Main Street, Harpswell’s waterfront is the commercial and communal heart of the town. The recent algal bloom and shellfish die-off in Harpswell is devastating for harvesters and associated businesses, but it’s also a wakeup call for Harpswell.
Research by the Maine Department of Marine Resources and others will dissect the cause of the bloom, but temperature and nutrient loading are likely contributing factors. As water temperatures warm, blooms will become more frequent, and increased nutrient loading from development will only exacerbate the problem.
We may not be able to control water temperature, but there are things we can do, like reducing nutrient loads from land uses, specifically septic systems. Nitrogen from septic systems leaches directly into groundwater, and studies show it can travel up to 3 miles via groundwater. Harpswell’s widest point of land to the ocean is only half a mile.
Reducing nutrient loading will require us to make some hard choices, one of which is to increase minimum lot size. There is good scientific evidence for doing so, and in the early 1990s the Brunswick Planning Department took action and received national recognition for zoning codes that implemented water quality and resource protection standards to prevent nutrient overload of coastal waters. Brunswick made a difficult decision to increase the minimum lot size from 1 acre to 5 acres in the Maquoit Bay watershed, significantly reducing the number of potential septic systems.
Harpswell may want to consider increasing lot sizes as well to safeguard seawater quality, especially in light of recent state legislation that requires towns to allow densities up to three times their current levels. Harpswell and Brunswick share many of the same waters. Maybe it’s time for us to act.
Amy Haible, Harpswell Neck
