The Adams Pond Road project is moving along, according to Boothbay Public Works Director Michael Alley. Alley said the new, freshly paved Adams Pond Road reopened Aug. 28. 

The project, a partnership between the town and Boothbay Region Water District (BRWD), moved about 1,000 feet of the road away from the pond onto adjacent water district land. The aim is to help protect the open public water source from potential pollutants, including road salts and sand, oil and other chemicals part of normal transportation.  

BRWD plans to make a vegetated buffer out of the old roadbed. However, the district is waiting for clean soil to begin the next phase. Natural Resource Program Manager Rebecca Jacobs said the district wants to put in around 600 yards of PFAS-free loam for the buffer, but the loam first needs to be tested for the pollutant. Jacobs said she hopes to begin planting native vegetation soon after.  

Another part of the project, reducing the dip in the road by Boothbay Craft Brewery to mitigate runoff, was completed earlier this summer.  

According to Alley and Jacobs, the project is estimated to cost around $300,000; it is supported by almost $150,000 of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency funds under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, administered by Maine Department of Environmental Protection in partnership with EPA.