Twenty seven lakes in the coastal zone are used as municipal water supplies. 

 Waters derived from these lakes are routinely sampled for water quality by the 

 Maine Department of Human Services and records are kept on file in Augusta. 

 Water from Craig Pond and Green Lake is used in Atlantic salmon hatcheries. 



Dams and Water Control Devices 



Dams and water control devices, common to the larger lakes of coastal Maine, 

 have had a significant effect on lakes and streams, yet few of these effects 

 have been studied or evaluated. These dams serve, or once served, to 

 stabilize water levels for ice production, for operating grain mills, and for 

 power production. Hydroelectric dams, or dams at lake outlets that control 

 flow for downstream hydroelectric facilities or for other purposes, can affect 

 lakes by periodically altering water levels and downstream flows. Biota and 

 fish-spawning areas in the littoral zone are especially affected. Relatively 

 serious water level problems exist at present at Branch Lake in region 5, and 

 Alamoosook and Silver Lakes and Toddy Pond in region 4. Some of the dams on 

 coastal zone lakes have fishways to facilitate the passage of fish to upstream 

 areas. Numerous dams have fallen into disrepair, because the original 

 purposes of the dams no longer exist and laws are inadequate to enforce 

 maintenance or removal. These dams are matters of State and local 

 controversy. Waterflow control agencies, boaters, fishermen, and shoreline 

 cottage owners have different opinions on desired water levels at most dams. 



LAKE MANAGEMENT and FISHERIES 



According to the Maine State Planning Office (1977), 67% of the coastal zone 

 lakes are in "lake management capability category A," covering lakes 

 "extremely vulnerable to water-quality degradation" from shoreland 

 development. All but one of the lakes not in category A are in categories B 

 and C; that is, capable of supporting without degradation "light intensity" 

 development (16% of the lakes) or "medium intensity" development (16% of the 

 lakes), respectively. Lakes and water bodies are also classified into 

 categories based on maximum acceptable levels of pollutants (e.g., coliform 

 bacteria). The criteria for the State Water Quality Classification scheme are 

 presented in chapter 3, appendix B. Ninety-six percent of the coastal 

 zone lakes are placed in categories A (12%) and Bl (84%). The water quality 

 permitted by Maine law is acceptable for recreational purposes, including 

 water contact recreation. 



At present, at least five State agencies administer laws and regulations that 

 directly affect lakes in the coastal zone. These agencies are the departments 

 of Environmental Protection, Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, Human Services 

 (Division of Health Engineering), and Agriculture (Abandoned Dams Act), and 

 the Land Use Regulation Commission. Activities of several other State 

 agencies indirectly affect lakes (e.g., the Department of Transportation, and 

 the Bureau of Forestry). The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National 

 Park Service have jurisdiction over lakes in Moosehorn National Wildlife 

 Refuge and Acadia National Park, respectively. 



Fish and wildlife in or near most of Maine's coastal freshwater lakes are 

 managed largely by regulatory controls. Most fishing controls relate to 

 seasons, size, or bag and creel limits, and other special considerations. 

 These regulations are meant to help control populations, or rate of cropping, 



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