• Paul Hunt, Environmental Manager at Portland Water District
• Michelle Clements, Public Relations and Communications Manager at Portland Water
• John M. O’Neil, Watershed Land & Property Manager at Manchester Water Works

• Evaluating opportunities to avoid or reduce risk.  
• Funding watershed protection programs
• Building partnerships with stakeholders in watershed protection
• Watershed surveillance, water quality monitoring, and reporting

Sebago Clean Waters: A Partnership for Natural Water Treatment

For 25 years the District has worked with local land trusts to conserve the forests that surround Sebago Lake, the water supply for 200,000 Mainers. These forests are extensive, largely unfragmented and healthy and provide exceptional, natural water treatment. They are also almost entirely owned by private landowners and therefore subject to conversion. Since 2000 the land conservation effort has evolved and grown. Now known formally as Sebago Clean Waters, it involves 11 organizations, 3 paid staff and about 30 contributing staff from the partner organizations. Paul will describe the evolution of the partnership and some lessons they’ve learned along the way.

A Creative Approach to Source Water Protection from a Central NH Surface Water Supply: A Brief History and Case Study

Since 1874, Lake Massabesic has served as the drinking water supply for over 159,000 people in the regional Manchester area. The lake appropriately gets its name from a Native American word meaning “the place of much water” as the lake covers over 2,500 acres in Manchester and Auburn, NH and has a storage capacity of 15 billion gallons.

Manchester Water Works strives to ensure that the drinking water we provide is safe to drink. As Lake Massabesic is our main public water supply, our primary goal is to protect the quality of the water at the source. A large portion of land in the watershed is also open to the public for a variety of recreational uses