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Cape Neddick River Update
May 7, 2003, York Independent
By Virginia L. Woodwell

An inspection of the upper reaches of the Cape Neddick River began this week as a key component of larger plans to free that river from pollution, and to safeguard it for the future.

Larry Reilly, a riverside resident, a member of a task force pursuing those goals, and one of the inspection's organizers, told The Independent it was hoped that the inspection, involving Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, and other volunteers, would be completed before the spring leaf canopy began shrouding the shoreline.

The inspectors, wearing hip boots and trained in GPS- and map-readings, will walk the river's bed, starting at Route 1, where the river becomes non-tidal, and proceeding to the stream's origins in Chase's Pond. They will be looking for any obvious signs of pollution entering the river, signs that might be the result of, among multiple possible causes, malfunctioning septic systems, flows from an old dump, fertilizer run-offs, and animal waste.

A letter sent this week by Town Manager Mark Green to owners of property along the river describes the project as a "shoreland survey," outlines its purpose, invites the landowners' questions and cooperation, and attempts to quell, in advance, fears of any results. "A shoreland survey," the letter reads, "is the first step in developing a plan to locate and hopefully eliminate sources of pollution. A shoreland survey involves nothing more than walking and looking. If a volunteer finds a problem he or she will note it and a code enforcement officer or other professional will investigate the problem and work with the property owner to correct it."

This action has its origins in attention first focused on the river by riverside resident Linda Scotland in the summer of 2001, when she became alarmed at the river's stench and algal blooms, and the unnatural growth of vegetation on its banks. Scotland has been working doggedly since then to document, scientifically, evidence of pollution in the river, and to marshall official action in response.

One result was the formation, one year ago, of the Cape Neddick River Task Force, which has been meeting about once a month since. Its members represent both a range of perspectives and for the first time on this topic, the concerted attention of government officials. They are Town Manager Green, Water District Superintendent Tim Haskell, Code Enforcement Officer Mark Badger, Selectman Michelle Moody, Conservation Committee member Stan Moody, University of New Hampshire microbiologist Steve Jones, and Reilly and Scotland, representing the Cape Neddick River Association, an affiliation of local land-owners formed when these matters first surfaced.

Another result of Scotland's attention has been the establishment of a system for routine sampling and testing of the river for the presence of human or animal waste as measured in fecal coliform counts. Last year Scotland and Reilly were looking forward to the application of DNA testing, performed at the University of New Hampshire, to ascertain the extent to which human waste is a problem. This year, water sampling has not yet been begun, but Scotland has been trained to do the testing that precedes DNA testing, and the York Sewer District has provided both the laboratory for that testing and the funding to make possible DNA testing on two water samples collected from two sites (of 10 regularly sampled) last year.

(The DNA testing has been limited to date because it is expensive. One water sample, for example, taken from one site might yield several colonies of fecal coliform, each of which must be separately tested for DNA content, bringing the cost of analyzing one sample, at $100 per test, to, if the sample has between five and eight colonies, between $500 and $800. Thus Reilly estimates the cost of testing single samples from six sites at as much as $6,000.)

The DNA testing done to date does show evidence of human waste in the river's waters, but it also shows contamination from animals ranging from otters and foxes to ducks and geese, with what Scotland calls a "huge" contribution from household pets. But, clearly, though high levels of fecal coliform were repeatedly found last summer, more testing needs to be done, and over a longer period of time, before conclusions can be drawn.

Meanwhile, the upcoming May river inspection, or "survey," is expected to yield the next set of preliminary data.

And Scotland and the Task Force are applying for funding, from the state and other sources, to conduct more formal inquiries into fecal coliform tracking, and, eventually, into studies of the river's dissolved oxygen content, among other issues.

Of that funding she says, determinedly, "If we don't get it this year, we will get it some time."