Measures to improve the health of the Kennebunk River are scheduled to begin later this year. Reducing the amount of manure-related pollutants from farms and equestrian facilities and installing native plant buffers where runoff is an issue are among the measures officials are planning.

Elevated bacteria levels resulted in the river landing on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s impaired list, said Mindee Goodrum, project manager for the York County Soil and Water Conservation District. An $88,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act will help begin restoration, she said.

Elevated bacteria levels resulted in the Kennebunk River landing on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s impaired list, said Mindee Goodrum, project manager for the York County Soil and Water Conservation District. A grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will help begin restoration, she said. Dan King photo

“This is a great start,” said Jacob Aman, stewardship director at Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, which joined with conservation district, Maine DEP, FB Environmental and others to create the Kennebunk River Watershed Management Plan in 2021. “The goal was to develop an actionable plan to start making headway on issues that have persisted in the watershed for decades.”

Some of the priority action items to be addressed during the next two years include providing cost-sharing funds to local farms and equestrian facilities to reduce the amount of manure-related pollutants that find their way into the river. The funds would be used to develop and implement nutrient management plans, said Goodrum. “Another major project includes a workshop and installation of native plant buffers at the Cape Arundel Golf Club in Kennebunkport,” she said. “Additional projects include stabilizing road and streambank locations and adding plant buffers where testing has shown runoff to be a significant source of pollution.”

The work will be guided and supported by the Kennebunk River Restoration Committee, formed during the development of the Watershed Management Plan. The committee includes members from conservation groups, municipalities, businesses and others throughout the watershed.

“After years of studies and water quality testing, it is wonderful to see concrete steps being taken to reverse the impairment of the river,” said member Betsy Smith, of Kennebunk, in a news release.

The restoration committee will coordinate restoration across the watershed, working with community volunteers to target remediation goals specific to their town, said Goodrum.

Municipal leaders in Arundel have formed the Arundel Kennebunk River Restoration Advisory Committee to advise and support the program. Sam Hull, committee member and co-chair of the Arundel group, pointed out the watershed report determined the river and several of its feeder tributaries in Arundel have become polluted with septic tank and agricultural discharge.

“The Kennebunk River has long both divided and unified this area – it serves as the boundary between several towns, yet it also unifies us as a shared unique natural resource for residents and visitors to our area to enjoy,” said Hull in a news release. ” We’re looking forward to both supporting our agricultural heritage and doing our part to fix the problem.”

For more information about the Kennebunk River Watershed Management plan, visit https://www.wellsreserve.org/writable/files/KennebunkRiverWBMP.pdf