letter to the editor

Don't ruin our lake

Tue, 11/29/2016 - 8:00am

Dear Editor:

As a homeowner on Knickerbocker Lake, I am concerned about the proposed expansion of the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens (CMBG). This project will not only increase water runoff to Knickerbocker Lake, but also add a tremendous amount of wastewater to an already endangered lake. This will not only affect those of us who live on the lake but every resident of Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor and Southport as the lake is the backup water supply for the region.

Since we purchased our property on the lake, we installed a new septic system and have made many landscape changes to prevent runoff from Back River Road reaching the lake. Many of our neighbors have made the same efforts. Now, CMBG wants to expand and possibly ruin the water quality of the lake. Yes, this will affect my property value and my enjoyment, but it will also affect those of you who swim from the public access dock, your children who spend their summers at Camp Knickerbocker in and around the lake, and all future generations who want a safe water supply and a beautiful lake to enjoy.

Right now, CMBG plans to invest $30 million in new facilities, including a Walmart size parking lot and massive on-site leach fields. The water and sewer districts have offered to work with CMBG to get grants to bring public sewer to the botanical gardens. Connecting to public sewer will cost CMBG, but it is expected to be comparatively less than that of an average homeowner like me.

Please join me in letting your planning board know that yes, we all love CMBG and the tourists they bring to the community but we also love our quality of life and value a clean, healthy lake. Ask CMBG to work with the local utility districts to connect to public sewer rather than create large disposal fields in Knickerbocker Lake watershed. Ask them to think beyond their borders and think about the community and our water supply.

CMBG is dedicated to showing people what coastal Maine can be, don’t ruin the actual Maine to make that happen.

Julia A. Degenhard

Boothbay