On Monday, February 2, PRLT gathered at Westbrook Community Center with over 100 members of our community for visioning sessions on the future of the Presumpscot River.
These sessions were part of Presumpscot 2040, the goal of which is to establish a shared vision for a more free-flowing natural Presumpscot River, from Sebago Lake to Casco Bay, its watershed and tributaries, with more sea-run fish, cleaner water, and an abundance of nature-based recreation. This initiative is convened by Casco Bay Estuary Project and is led by a steering committee with additional members from PRLT, Friends of the Presumpscot River, Friends of Casco Bay, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, Sebago Clean Waters, the Town of Windham, and Trout Unlimited.
Steering committee members divided into groups to share info on five different topics related to how humans and animals interact with and around the river: recreation, community development, free flow, habitat, and water quality. During each session, and after hearing an overview of the history of the Presumpscot River from Michael Shaughnessy, attendees had a chance to visit stations and interact with representatives from the five topic areas.
PRLT staff worked with Friends of Casco Bay and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to present information and collect feedback on water quality. PRLT’s volunteer water quality sampling captures information on bacteria (E. coli) and dissolved oxygen levels at 45 testing sites on the Presumpscot River and its tributaries, and we maintain an online map that shows 14-year averages. Between this information and the data shared by FOCB and DEP, it’s clear that the Presumpscot River itself has met DEP standards the majority of the time, and that it is the river’s tributaries where we need to be most concerned about water health.
Clara, our Regional Land Trust Fellow from GPCOG, captured feedback at our table. Here are some of the public concerns we discussed:
How can road salt/sand be diverted before running into rivers?
How will dam removal change the river’s hydrology?
What is the impact of the remaining combined sewer overflows and what is being done to address them?
Is there a way to share data about water quality in real time, especially around areas of high recreational use?
How can we communicate fishing consumption safety warnings vis-à-vis PFAs monitoring?
What needs to be done to bring up the river grade? Can we make it public and easily accessible?
We also asked our visitors why they care about clean water and what a healthy watershed looks like to them. Here are a few of those responses:
“Part of a healthy planet, but easier to focus on! Clean water is something I imagine all of us want, so good to focus for broader concerns.”
“Water quality protection is critical for communities for economic, social and regulating reasons. We need to work together to protect and restore WQ as the watershed continues to grow.”
“Healthy watershed has free-flowing rivers and high forest cover near water!”
“A large, wide green corridor along as much of the river as we can get; with integrated and thoughtful development.”
“Finding a way to best balance human development with the health of environment.”
Overall throughout the course of the day, we heard a strong call for more collaboration across organizations and municipalities and more information sharing with opportunities for public input.
If you missed the visioning sessions, there is still time to provide feedback! Friends of the Presumpscot River’s Presumpscot 2040 Public Perspectives Survey is live until 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, February 17, 2026. This survey explores how people currently use, experience, and value the Presumpscot River and its watershed, as well as their views on its future uses, ecological health, and importance to communities.
After the survey closes and data can be analyzed, the steering committee will be meeting to review feedback from the survey and the visioning sessions to outline next steps.
Stay tuned for what happens next with Presumpscot 2040!