The Goosefare Brook Watershed (GFW) is located in the City of Saco and in the Town of Old Orchard Beach and covers approximately 5,902 acres (9.2 sq. mi.) of land. Goosefare Brook begins just north of Interstate 95 near Boothbay Lane in Saco and flows southeast across U.S. Routes 95 and 195 through a small forested area and joins with Bear Brook at the Boston and Maine Springfield Terminal Railroad. The brook continues through a wetland area and meets with Branch Brook before emptying into the Saco Bay, just downstream of U.S. Route 9 between Old Orchard Beach and Ferry Beach State Park. The Goosefare Brook is a Class B stream but has been assessed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) as not meeting Class B water quality standards for metals, aquatic life use, and bacteria. As a result, it has been listed on the State’s 303(d) list of impaired waters.
In 2016, the City of Saco in partnership with the Town of Old Orchard Beach and several stake holders, wrote a watershed-based management plan (WBMP) for the GFW. The WBMP outlines a two-phase plan over a 15-year period to implement structural and non-structural stormwater retrofit / enhancement measures to improve Goosefare Brook’s water quality and aquatic habitat to attain Class B standards.
In 2017 the City of Saco was awarded the first phase of grant funds for implementation of the GFW Restoration ProjectFunding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. All work associated with Phase I was completed from 2017 to 2019 in partnership with the York County Soil and Water Conservation District (YCSWCD) and the Town of Old Orchard Beach. Phase I was guided by the Goosefare Brook Restoration Committee (GBRC) and focused on the construction of stormwater treatment projects in Saco and Old Orchard Beach, erosion issues in Saco and the improvement of riparian buffers in Saco. The Final Project Report for Phase 1 summarizes activities performed within this grant.
In 2018, the Town of Old Orchard Beach was awarded a second phase of grant funds for implementation of the GFW restoration project, in partnership with the City of Saco and the YCSWCD. Funding for this project, in part, was provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act.
Several projects have taken place in second pahse of the grant that will be completed this year. These projects are taking place at Loranger Memorial School, the Biddeford-Saco Country Club and throughout Old Orchard Beach. Two press releases have also been submitted to media outlets for this grant work. Under this grant project, several Clean-Up Days have taken place. Details about the Clean-Up Days scheduled for 2020 will be posted to this website. For more information about the Goosefare Brook Restoration Project and the GBRC, please contact Joseph Cooper, Director of Public Works: (207) 934-2250 OR Jennifer Harris, Project Coordinator at York County Soil & Water Conservation District: jharris@yorkswcd.org or (207) 324-0888 x208.