BRUNSWICK — Shellfish flats along the entire coast of Maine remain closed today after rain pelted the state Monday.
At 10:15 a.m. Monday, the Department of Marine Resources Public Health Division announced that due to rainfall exceeding two inches in 24 hours in western Maine, and predicted rainfall exceeding two inches by the evening low tide in eastern Maine, the state would adopt a flood closure.
Dan Devereaux, Brunswick’s marine resources officer, watched pollution and runoff wash into Bunganuc Stream on Monday morning. He said today he was pleased that the DMR made much progress recently in closing — and reopening — flats when conditions warrant it. Such quick response, he said, means flats are closed as soon as the water is not clean, and tested “right away” to reopen them as soon as possible to let harvesters dig again.
“They’re using the totality of the circumstances, instead of what they used to use — just the rain gauge,” he said. “That is progress.”
bbrogan@timesrecord.com
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