Hart Brook Watershed Management Plan

Hart Brook Watershed Management Plan The Hart Brook Watershed Management Plan was completed August 27, 2008. 

• Hart Brook Watershed Management Plan (April 2019)
• Compensation Fee Utilization Plan

Projects Completed to Date

• Sanitary Sewer Assessment & Rehabilitation

- The City of Lewiston completed a video inspection of the sanitary sewer running parallel to Hart Brook in 2009. Since then, the city has spent more than $1 million installing cured-in-place sewer pipe lining in approximately 7,000 Linear Feet (LF) of the sewer. Cured-in-place pipe is a trenchless rehabilitation method used to repair existing pipelines that are subject to infiltration and leakage. This technology is often more cost effective than replacing the entire pipe.

- View a map for a map showing the sewer that has been lined with cured-in-place pipe along Hart Brook.

• Hart Brook Water Quality Restoration, Lewiston Industrial Park - Phase I 

- In 2015, the City completed the first of a series of water quality restoration projects in the Hart Brook Watershed. This project installed three stormwater bio-filtration units and a stormwater treatment structure in the Lewiston Industrial Park. The bio-filtration units use plants and engineered soil to remove pollutants from stormwater before it enters Hart Brook, while providing an aesthetically pleasing perennial garden. The stormwater treatment structure consists of a Nutrient Separating Baffle Box© that is located beneath the ground.

- Hart Brook Water Quality Restoration, Lewiston Industrial Park - Phase 1 plans

- Phase 1 photos 

Additional Efforts to Help Restore Hart Brook

1. Catch Basin Stenciling Events

• These events use local volunteer groups to paint stencils on catch basins. The stencils are used to remind people that the catch basins are for stormwater drainage and to not put anything down the grate that will pollute the brook. This includes things like trash, cigarette butts, pet waste, oil, grease, and soap. These types of pollutants will find their way to the brook and cause water quality impairment.
• Event photos

2. Watershed Monitoring Program 

• From 2010 to 2015, the City was part of the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Volunteer River Monitoring (VRM) Program. During the summer months, the student interns conducted sampling at eight different location in Hart Brook. The sampling measured temperature, dissolve of oxygen, and specific conductivity. In 2014 and 2015, testing for e.Coli was included in the sampling efforts with assistance from the Lewiston-Auburn Water Pollution Control Authority (LAWPCA).
• In 2015, the City worked with students from Bates College and Lewiston High School to conduct additional water quality sampling.
• Annual VRM Water Quality Reports - 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015

 3. Good Housekeeping Practices

• Stormwater Utility Information

How Can You Help?

1. Install a Rain Garden

(it’s simpler than you might think)

• Rain Garden Layouts (MEDEP)
• Rain Garden Manual of New Jersey
• Rain Garden Design and Construction

2. Disconnect your downspout

• Make sure your roof drain downspout is directed to a lawn area or garden and not to your driveway or street. Rain water is free! Use it for watering lawns and gardens and other household chores. Your lawn and plants will love you because rain water is naturally soft and doesn’t have chlorine.

3. Follow these Yardscaping Tips

• Spring Lawn Tips
• Fall Lawn Tips
• Working Together for Clean Water

4. Report Non-Stormwater Discharges

• Remember, only Rain down the Drain! If you see somebody illegally dumping material into a catch basin, storm drain, or stream, call Public Works Dispatch at 207-513-3003!