Dear Editor:

On Monday, Aug. 14, the Knickerbocker Lake Association had its annual meeting. About 40 people were present. Paul Hunt from the Portland Water District gave a presentation about managing the health of Sebago Lake and its watershed. The size difference between Sebago Lake and Knickerbocker Lake is significant, but both are used for drinking water and recreation. There was much to be learned from his presentation about how we can best manage our water quality.

Hunt spoke of the importance of community effort in keeping the lake clean. It is too important and too big of a job to have only the water district protecting the lake. It takes an entire community to keep up the quality of the lake. He emphasized that a watershed with a healthy, intact forest is the ideal situation, but when someone wants to develop in the watershed, it is imperative for the developer, the water district, and the community to work together, to voice concerns, and to make compromises to be sure that the lake will not be impacted.

Many of us are concerned about the impact of Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens’ development on Knickerbocker Lake. CMBG has said they are following the regulations, but at the KLA meeting, while we were talking about DEP and town regulations (ordinances), Jan Wiegman from CMBG admitted that the regulations are flawed and that CMBG has made mistakes in their expansion. Many lake communities, like Boothbay, have programs to lower phosphorus levels in lakes, yet CMBG’s expansion in the watershed will most likely increase the phosphorus. Following regulations that they know are flawed is saying that they don’t care about the lake. Having permeable parking lots is not going to do the job of a forest.

No one is asking CMBG to not expand, but we do ask for cooperation and compromise. We request CMBG remove the small part of their development that is in the watershed. It is the smart and right thing to do.

We are also asking the community to get involved in keeping our lake clean. Please come listen and speak up at the next Board of Appeals meeting on Aug. 31 at 6 p.m. at the town hall in Boothbay.

Knickerbocker Lake Association

Paula and Bill Arsenault

Julie and Karen Degenhard

Jim and Carolyn MacLeod

Bruce and Susan Rice

Walter Downey and Sue O’Connor

Joyce Sirois

Doug and Ann Jimenez/Dolores Thurin