Enabling Source Water Protection:

Aligning State Land Use and Water Protection Programs

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Maine

Program Year: One

Client: Maine CDC Drinking Water Program (Department of Health and Human Services)
Click here for Maine's Final Report (PDF).

State-identified Need: Leverage limited funding for source water protection by engaging state agencies with land use impacts in protecting water quality.

Branch Lake, Maine. Photo: Jerry&Marcy Monkman

Project Summary: Develop a prioritized list of action items that will make it easier for local governments and state agencies to consider source water protection needs as part of current programs and activities.

Methodology: In-depth analysis of existing programs and listening sessions with representatives from across the state led to the development of a draft set of alignment opportunities. The project team facilitated a workshop to review these opportunities. The project team used input from this workshop to develop a set of recommended actions, which workshop participants evaluated via an online survey to assess feasibility, cost and effectiveness.

Recommendations: Ten recommended action items addressed the economic value of clean sources of drinking water, the need for a one-stop GIS shop, opportunities to identify additional funding for source protection, and ways to increase the use of land use planning as a source protection measure.

The top five recommendations, in order of priority:

1. Incorporate drinking water source protection among the assets considered for the Quality of Place Investments Strategy, an economic development strategy focused on identifying, preserving and reinforcing Maine's natural, cultural, economic and human assets.
2. Streamline statewide GIS databases and develop protocols for collecting, analyzing, uploading, and managing data to provide a one-stop center for state, local and regional governments, and to reduce duplication of efforts and funding.
3. Develop overarching guidelines for compatible recreational opportunities on land and in waters critical to drinking water source protection.
4. Increase funding for drinking water source protection through the creation of a dedicated funding program.
5. Enhance existing Current Use Tax Program to include landscapes important for protection of drinking water sources.

FOR QUESTIONS:

Kelley Hart
(415) 495-4014, ext. 201

Elizabeth Schilling
(202) 207-3355 ext. 41