Scuba teams to search for gray water offenders

Thursday, March 17, 2005

By BETTY JESPERSEN Staff Writer

INDUSTRY -- Underwater sleuths this summer will be helping hunt for camp owners who continue to pipe their dirty wash water into the pristine waters of Clearwater Lake.

The Livermore Falls Diving Club, whose members practice scuba diving in the lake in the warmer months, have agreed to look for polluters and tag the underwater pipes in hopes of tracing the gray water back to its source, said Code Enforcement Officer Robert Dubois.

"I have gotten numerous complaints about soap bubbles around the lake and steps are being taken to find the offenders," Dubois said. He has no idea how many systems are responsible and testing cannot be done until the ice is gone. On spring and summer days, vigilant camp owners using binoculars have reported seeing soap bubbles floating across the surface of the water, he said. "They can even predict at what time of day it appears," he said. Under Maine's plumbing code, it is illegal to discharge water used for washing or sewage into any water body.

Dubois said it will be a challenge to figure out which pipes are releasing the dirty water among the profusion that stick out below the water line. Some connect to old systems that have been discontinued and others are used to bring water into homes for washing. "I have been doing this job for two years and have gotten a lot of complaints and it has been impossible to figure out where the bubbles are coming from. This is the first viable solution we have had," he said. Once pipes are tagged by the divers, plumbing inspector Tom Marcotte will try to trace their source.

The plan is for him to pour fluorescent dye into drain pipes of the closest camps and look to see if a plume shows up on the surface of the lake. Dubois said he does not expect any problems with access but plumbing inspectors have the right to inspect home plumbing systems and if denied entry, can seek a court order. O

nce the responsible owner is identified, an agreement would be drawn up forcing the person to divert the gray water into a septic or holding tank by a deadline or else face a fine. Both the federal Natural Resource Protection Act, which protects the first 75 feet of shoreland, and the Maine Department of Environment Protection's shoreland zoning law have jurisdiction over lakes, Dubois said.

Gray water piped from washing machines, bathtubs, or sinks contains high levels of phosphorus that promotes algae growth, said Judy Potvin from the lakes division of the state's environmental agency. In most cases, offenders are unaware they have been polluting. "I don't know anyone in this day and age who would intentionally discharge into a lake. They just don't know where their water is going and assume it is into a septic tank," she said.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991 bjespersen@centralmaine.com

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