The Spruce Creek Watershed in Kittery has unhealthy bacteria levels, and a new grassroots effort in the community aims to change that.
Great Bay-Piscataqua Waterkeeper Melissa Paly has been studying the problem for years and says development is to blame.
"It really comes down to a lot of development we've seen, a lot of homes — many of them on septic systems — and continued growth along Route 1 corridor without adequate stormwater management. So we're going to need to lean into stormwater management and septic systems changes," Paly said.
Amid Paly's investigation, she noticed algae blooms in the creek and now believes nitrogen is getting into the water through stormwater runoff and leaking septic systems.
Grass Roots Group Save Kittery Waters is now launching a CreekSmart Campaign to study nitrogen in the Spruce Creek water column.
"So we kind of have to start all over again and find the sources of nitrogen that are triggering these algae blooms and that's what this group, Save Kittery Waters, is really trying to tackle," Paly said.
Paly, Kittery's town council and other advocates are launching the CreekSmart Campaign at 7 p.m. Monday at the Kittery Community Center Star Theatre.
