Scarborough Marsh is the largest salt marsh area in Maine. How is our cherished marsh doing? What can we say about its health and its future? These are questions that volunteers Greg Bither, Don Salvatore, Sue Williams and Betsy Barrett are helping to answer. Every two weeks they brave the mud, weather, slippery rocks, and road traffic of our marsh to gather data on its health. 
 
The volunteers are part of the Maine DEP’s Volunteer River Monitoring Program (VRMP), which is a network of like-minded individuals throughout Maine who dedicate their time to gathering data on our rivers and streams. The statistics become part of the DEP’s database. In turn, the DEP looks at trends throughout the state, critically analyzes water body health, and makes recommendations about waterways that are in jeopardy and which need additional resources to ameliorate conditions.
 
Every two weeks the volunteers, who are under the auspices of the Friends of Scarborough Marsh, visit eight rivers or streams which are tributaries to the marsh. They gather data on water temperature, bacteria content, conductivity (a measure of salinity as well as purity), and dissolved oxygen. They also make observations of water clarity, depth of flow, odor, turbidity, and a host of other measures. These indicators form a baseline for the health of the marsh. As time goes by, monitoring changes in these characteristics and looking for abnormalities in their numbers provides valuable information that will help in making decisions about future actions.
 
For now, many signs are positive. There are a few warning signs such as abnormally high bacterial contents in some tributaries, which have been previously identified and studied. However, the marsh is generally healthy, and most of the waterways are not in a dangerous category. Changes over time will best guide any future needs, and the efforts of this group will be sure to provide red flags when appropriate.
 
The volunteers are looking forward to a great year in 2021. They could use some help! If you are interested in spending a morning every two weeks or so in the marsh, please email Greg at:
greg.bither@gmail.com

Photo: Greg Bither  Board member and Volunteer Don Salvatore working at Millbrook site above
Photo: Greg Bither, Betsy Barrett and Sue Williams working on Black Point Road site top photo

​Links to DEP research site:
Link to maps: maine.maps.arcgis.com/apps/dashboards/0ca4fbd9c7584fbd9c2c56ef5413a915
​Link to VRMP data: www.maine.gov/dep/water/monitoring/rivers_and_streams/vrmp/reports.html

A report released in July 2013 by the National Resources Defense Council showing that in 2012 Scarborough’s Ferry Beach tied for 5th place (out of 60) in Maine’s most contaminated beaches. Also at about that time, FOSM partnered with the University of New England to collect and analyze data gathered at the Mill Brook area of the marsh. The study  found water quality to be good overall, with one major exception: coliform bacteria rated as poor at all four sampling sites during almost every month of the study period. High coliform bacteria levels are the primary reason for closing clam flats.  

The Friends of the Scarborough Marsh (FOSM) has completed an eight month water quality study of Mill Brook, a tributary of the Nonesuch River. The project, focusing on a 1.7 mile stretch of the creek running from Sawyer Road, under US Rte 1 to the Eastern Trail, aimed to identify constraints the town faces in improving water quality to levels that would permit reopening clam flats for harvest. Overall, water quality was good, with one major exception: coliform bacteria rated as poor at all four sampling sites during every month except January, 2012. 

Mill Brook Water Quality Analysis Final Report (Friends of Scarborough Marsh, 2006)

Libby River Watershed Survey Final Report (Friends of Scarborough Marsh, 2000)