Dear Editor:

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens shares Julia A. Degenhard’s concerns over water quality and environmental respect, but are saddened that her letter, “Please Don’t Ruin our Lake,” tries to wrongfully blame us for any present or future problems Knickerbocker Lake might encounter. The majority of our infrastructure lies outside the watershed and we’ve worked hard to limit development inside it.

The world-wide popularity of CMBG has far exceeded expectations. Our infrastructure was designed for one quarter of the guests we now welcome, and for a region greatly in need of increased tourism, we hope to continue growing – especially year-round visitation – over the next 10 years. In addition to new gardens, educational and research facilities, conservatory and visitor center, we’ll increase parking from the 340 current spaces to 650 and eventually 695 permeable paved spaces over the next five years. Far from a Walmart lot, our parking will be a series of terraced two-row strips separated by dense native plantings. Our design meets the EPA’s Low Impact Design standards, mandating that 95 percent of storm water be detained and treated on site. Located a half mile from the lake, our septic system will be the size of 10-15 residential septic fields and employ a Bioclear system that removes 90 percent of sediments and 85 percent of nitrates – reducing both to levels equivalent to 3-4 residential leach fields. This technology is new in Maine but popular in Europe and we want to demonstrate its effectiveness in this region.

We’ve worked with the water district but no meaningful grant money has yet been identified. Without grants, we would have to spend roughly $4 million to connect to water and sewer (as Degenhard suggests) – far beyond our means as a non-profit. Our project meets EPA, DEP and Boothbay town ordinances for water quality and quantity. Please do not believe the rhetoric. As always, CMBG is working to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Bill Cullina

Executive Director

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens