Mission:
The Groundwater Quality Committee is dedicated to assessing The Town of Long Island’s groundwater supply and providing updated data to support informed, sustainable decision making for the Town of Long Island.
NOV. 3, 2024
Septic system resources for island residents
Long Island Groundwater
Sustainability Study 2024-25
Ground Water Quality Presentation
Septicsmart_kitchen_postcard
Locating Your Well and Septic System –
July 6, 2024
Sunday, July 7 is water testing deadline
Water quality team reminds residents to fill out survey by tomorrow to get free water testing
7.3 Well and Septic Survey Update
June 25, 2024
We’ve topped 100 responses
Water team sets July 7 deadline
For submitting survey results
6.25 Well and Septic Survey Announcement
June 10, 2024
Your survey response doesn’t have to be complete!
Reminder from town’s Water Quality team:
Just responding to the survey makes you eligible for water testing
Here’s the link:
6-10 Well and Septic Survey Update
June 4, 2024
Responses continue to come in
Water Quality team reminds residents:
You are eligible for a free test even if your survey isn’t completely filled out
Here’s the link:
6-4 Well and septic survey update
May 17, 2024
The town has 60 responses
Well and septic survey update
Here’s the link:
5-15 Well and Septic Survey Update
April 29, 2024
Summer 2024 Water Testing Initiative
Groundwater Quality Committee
Seeks summer volunteers
:The Groundwater Quality Committee is seeking volunteers to help with their summer 2024 water sampling and testing initiative. Volunteers will attend a water sampling training session and then will be assigned to conduct water sampling at a number of participating island addresses. The GWQC will transport samples to the lab to be tested for a specific set of predetermined parameters. Test results will be aggregated and shared with the community.
The volunteer training session will be scheduled for the end of May and water sampling will be conducted over the course of approximately 6 weeks from June to early July.
If you are interested in volunteering and helping the GWQC or have any additional questions- please each out to emorgan@gpcog.org.
If you’re interested in helping but are unsure if your availability aligns, please reach out anyway and we can talk more!
Here is the link:
Water Sampling Volunteer Flyer
April 10, 2024
The first step of this study involves you!
Long Island Well and Septic Survey
Now live
The Town of Long Island 2022 Comprehensive Plan identified water supply as the top concern to the community. In the wake of the devastation from recent storms, the need to sustain our single source aquifer is now even more apparent.
In order to address this challenge, the Town of Long Island is conducting a water supply sustainability study to update the island’s existing groundwater data. The study is funded by a grant awarded through participation in the State of Maine’s Community Resilience Partnership.
Here is the link:
https://arcg.is/1nvLWX
The Comprehensive Plan recognizes that “the future of Long Island depends on the ability of the island’s resources to support those who live and work here.” In response, several community members formed a Groundwater Quality Committee to collect data, research solutions and implement sustainable practices.
The first step of this study involves you! Please participate in a survey to help collect data on island wells and septic systems. The information you provide will help us understand the current groundwater quality and quantity constraints on the island. This data will be used to help develop a long-term groundwater monitoring plan that will provide critical data for regional resilience efforts, identify vulnerable areas, and identify actions we can all take to preserve our precious water supply. Taking care of our natural resources is more important than ever as storms continue to increase in severity. With your help, we can protect the future health of our island’s groundwater.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions. You can contact
Emma Morgan at emorgan@gpcog.org
or
Christian LaMontagne at clamonta2@gmail.com
Thank you for your participation,
The Groundwater Quality Committee
March 6, 2024
Mission:
The Groundwater Quality Committee is dedicated to assessing The Town of Long Island’s groundwater supply and providing updated data to support informed, sustainable decision making for the Town of Long Island.
A huge thank you for the work of our previous members Ralph Sweet, Curt Murley, Chris McDuffie, Henry Donovan, Ed McAleney, and Paul Thornton who contributed their time and expertise to the goals of the committee.
The Gerber Report
An important document related to the work of this committee is the 1986 Gerber Report, also known as the CITY OF PORTLAND GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT STUDY. This report was commissioned by the city of Portland and covers all the Casco Bay islands that were a part of Portland in 1986.
You can view/download this document from here:
1986 Gerber Report
The Long Island portion of the Gerber Report can also be found in the 2008 Comprehensive Plan. You can view this starting on page 52 of the displayed PDF file.
Emma Morgan, Long Island Resilience Fellow emorgan@gpcog.org
Christian LaMontagne, Committee chairman clamonta2@gmail.com
January 17, 2024
Long Island welcomes
Resilience Fellow Emma Morgan
The Town of Long Island was selected as a host site for the Resilience Corps Program. This program is a partnership between Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) and AmeriCorps. It supports local government agencies, non-profit agencies, and regional initiatives in the Greater Portland area in a diversity of efforts towards regional resilience.
Emma Morgan will be serving the town of Long Island as a Resilience Corps Fellow. She joined us in January and will be with us through September 2024. Emma’s primary focus will be working with the Groundwater Quality Committee to project manage an extensive Water Sustainability study for which the town received a grant from the state’s Community Resilience Partnership. She will also be helping out with various mapping projects, supporting the Year-Round Housing Committee and waterfront infrastructure efforts as needed, along with some project support on erosion mitigation and reclamation of natural resources.
We are very fortunate and excited to have Emma serving on “Team Long Island” for nine months. Emma brings a breadth of experience and talents. She studied Environmental Science at the University of Connecticut and graduated in 2022. You may see her at Town Hall on Wednesdays so please say hello and thank her for her service!
Janice Avignon and Brian Dudley
Resilience Fellow co-advisors