Maine Sustainability & Water Conference Spotlights Urgent Local, Regional and Global Issues

From sessions on the health of beaches and shellfish beds to innovative local climate change adaptations to citizen science successes, the 2015 Maine Sustainability & Water Conference features an expanded agenda on urgent topics affecting New England, the country and the globe. This year’s event offers 13 half- and all-day sessions on water resource and sustainability science topics, a large poster exhibition and a midday plenary session featuring keynote speaker Whitney King, Miselis Professor of Chemistry at Colby College. King will discuss the process of putting together a community action plan to address declining water quality in the Belgrade Lakes.

“We’re delighted that we can come together once again with our many partners to take stock of the challenges facing Maine and grow our collaborative capacity to link knowledge with actions that create a brighter future for Maine’s people,” said David Hart, Director of the Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. “This is the conference’s most diverse agenda yet, with offerings that reflect the Mitchell Center’s steadfast commitment to help Maine communities solve urgent problems at the intersection of economic, social and environmental issues. It is at gatherings like these where great ideas are born and where creative partnerships are formed in the search for solutions.”

One of the largest environmentally related conference in Maine, this unique event draws presenters from universities, all levels of government, private companies, national organizations and non-profit agencies big and small. Information on this year’s conference can be accessed here.

Originally called the Maine Water Conference, the annual event was founded in 1994 by the Senator George J. Mitchell Center as an annual forum for the exchange of information and presentation of new findings on water resource issues in Maine. In 2014, the conference expanded its focus to become the Maine Sustainability & Water Conference, creating a joint focus on water resources and sustainability science.

And here’s just a taste of what you can find at this year’s conference:

How Serious Is Contamination along New England’s Beaches and in its Shellfish Beds?: Few phenomenon have more power to disrupt Maine’s and New Hampshire’s economies than the contamination of beaches and shellfish beds. Thousands of acres of shellfish fisheries are closed each year and hundreds of beaches along the coastline post advisories to let swimmers know when bacterial levels are considered unsafe.

A new multi-institutional research project led by the University of New Hampshire and UMaine seeks to both better understand and find solutions to the scourge plaguing both beaches and crucial fisheries. Partnering with shellfish harvesters, beach managers, state and local officials and non-governmental groups, scientists want to both understand how contamination happens and develop more scientifically accurate tests for bacteria. They also want to foster robust communication between researchers and stakeholders. It’s part all part of the New England Sustainability Consortium (NEST).

Session co-chairs and NEST researchers Kathleen P. Bell, Associate Professor in UMaine’s School of Economics and Kevin Gardner, Professor of Civil Engineering at University of New Hampshire, have prepared a diverse agenda for this session that includes an analysis of fecal bacteria levels in beach areas, a look at the serious risk to public health presented by vibrio bacteria in shellfish beds, the latest data and tools being developed to ensure safe beaches, and scientific modeling of pathogen concentrations in coastal waters and estuaries.

A Case for Citizen Scientist: Citizen science is changing the scope of research at many universities, enabling them to participate in large-scale projects over time: inventories of seasonal changes, water quality studies, animal monitoring.

Successes, challenges and recommendations will be presented in this session co-chaired by Karen Wilson, Assistant Research Professor at University of Southern Maine (USM), and Bridie McGreavy, a postdoctoral researcher with NEST

Still relatively new to academia, citizen science is gaining viability in the exacting world of peer-reviewed science journals. Checks and balances on data collection have shown much of the information gathered by volunteers to be solid, researchers report. Here’s a look at some of what’s being presented:

Session goers will hear about one of the oldest citizen science programs in the nation, the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (VLMP). Begun in 1971, the program has trained thousands of volunteers to monitor a wide range of lake indicators. Program managers will share the VLMP’s recipe for success.

Researchers will present findings from a pilot citizen science fish count program along herring ladders in Maine and Massachusetts. The researchers found that facilitating volunteer programs that collect fisheries data is complicated. An online survey of volunteers assisted in gauging motivations and barriers to participation. Initial results will be presented during this session.

The Marine Invader Monitoring and Information Collaborative (MIMIC) will present information about its network of trained volunteers and scientists who monitor marine invasive species throughout the northeastern United States. The purpose is to detect newly introduced species as well as changes in the abundance and distribution of established non-native species.

The Problem with Maine’s Drinking Water: Although Maine has an abundance of clean water, there are many locations where finding good water quantity and quality can be very difficult due to a site’s geology or the impacts from human activities. This session will focus on techniques that have been used in Maine and New England to tackle these problems and provide reliable drinking water supplies.

The session, chaired Michael Abbott, Hydrogeologist and Water Resources Team Leader for the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program, features presentations on novel designs and engineering innovations. Here are some highlights:

The US Geologic Survey, New England Water Science Center will present a method for reducing human exposure to arsenic in domestic drinking water by use of a novel design for shallow wells in the glacial aquifer

An engineering firm will discuss how they have modified the “hydrofracking process, common to the oil and gas industry, and used it successfully and economically to increase the yield of bedrock wells in Maine with an 85 to 90 percent success rate for single family residential homes.
Another firm will present information on the development of an innovative way to assess bedrock well safe yields through a methodology called Inverse Step Testing. This approach may provide an inexpensive way to assess well yield limits and identify and target drawdown thresholds.

Ocean Acidification: The ongoing decrease in the pH of the earth’s oceans due to uptake of carbon dioxide, has major implications for the state of Maine. With nearly 90% of the state’s fisheries dependent on shell producing species, the potential implications of ocean acidification are sobering. Predictions of continuing pH raise questions about the long-term viability of these fisheries. The goal of this session is to raise awareness of ocean acidification and present updates on research and monitoring as well as remediation, mitigation, and adaptation strategies. Among the presentations:

Addressing the problem locally: Ocean acidification is a complex, global problem. Most state and national governments are reluctant to address it, even as their fisheries and aquaculture industries are impacted. But several states, including Maine, are rejecting this tenet. The 126^th Legislature established Maine’s Commission to Study the Effects of Coastal and Ocean Acidification and Its Existing and Potential Effects on Species That Are Commercially Harvested and Grown along the Maine Coast. This session takes a look at local action.

Low pH the Georges River Estuary: This presentation looks at the effects of ocean acidification in the St. George River Estuary. The estuary is a long, narrow drowned river mouth located between Port Clyde and Thomaston, ME, on the eastern edge of Muscongus Bay. Low pH events due to ocean acidification are a huge concern. The area is one of the most valuable softshell clam fisheries in the state of Maine.

For more information, contact Tamara Field at 207-420-7755 or tamara.field@maine.edu