Clean Water for Clams

As the third most valuable fishery in Maine, shellfish harvesting is greatly affected by the quality of water in which the animals grow and feed. These mollusks are susceptible to human induced pollutants, specifically bacteria from malfunctioning septic systems, waste water treatment overflow, farm animals, and household pet waste to name just a few.

 

Kennebec Estuary Shellfish Area Project 2012

Project Coordinator: Ruth Indrick

Outreach Coordinator: Becky Kolak

The goal of the Kennebec Shellfish Area Project is to work toward a better understanding of the sources and movement of fecal pollution on shellfish flats in the towns of Georgetown, Arrowsic, Westport Island, Phippsburg, Woolwich, and West Bath through a combination of outreach, sampling, area pollution source surveys, stream surveys, GIS analysis, and data analysis.  The long-term goal is refinement of shellfish area classifications, identification of sources of fecal pollution, and opening more areas for shellfish harvesting.

 

 

KELT is so proud of Morse High School students, Max Rawson and Schuyler Mace (left), for participating in the Maine Science Fair 2012 with their project on the water quality of Brookings Bay in Woolwich.
(Check out the project website here:https://sites.google.com/site/

brookingsbaywaterquality/home/science-fair)

They placed SECOND in the ‘Earth, Physics, and Astronomy’ group AND received one of the four ‘Most Outstanding Science Projects’ from the Air Force. Congratulations guys!