FREEPORT – The project manager for the Concord Gully Watershed management plan will make a public presentation during the Tuesday, Dec. 10, meeting of the Freeport Town Council, which begins at 6 p.m.

Kate McDonald, a scientist with the Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, will join with Al Presgraves, town engineer, in making the presentation.

Presgraves said Monday that the town is using a grant of about $10,000 from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection to study the causes of degradation of Concord Gully Brook. The town is funding a small share of the project, and some in-kind funds have been identified, Presgraves said.

The watershed area covers approximately 600 acres, including about half of downtown Freeport, before discharging into Allen Pond and the Harraseeket River at Porter’s Landing.

Presgraves said the state has identified Concord Gully Brook as an urban-impaired stream due to degraded aquatic life and habitat. He said that all streams in the country are assigned a grade, and that Concord Gully Brook is not meeting its Grade B classification.

McDonald said that each stream is graded “A,” “B” or “C,” and that Concord Gully is classified as “failing,” rather than being dropped to a “C.”

The first phase of the funding, the study phase, was completed last spring, McDonald said. It identified sources of erosion, where storm water is rushing into the stream, she said. The subsequent management plan could be directed to stabilize stream banks and provide habitat for aquatic life, she said.

Presgraves said that complete findings of the study will not be available until June.

“We will present as much information as we feel makes sense to the public,” Presgraves said. “We want to present the information and what we’re finding that impacts the quality of the water in that stream. We’re not sure how far along we’ll get into on the recommendation side of things.”

Presgraves said that the town has organized a steering committee, comprising three residents, state environmental and transportation officials, as well as McDonald and Presgraves.

“We’re trying to communicate with stakeholders in the watershed,” he said.

Presgraves said that Concord Gully Brook suffers from high chloride levels, some from the old public works site and some from the former Department of Transportation salt stockpile near Exit 20 of Interstate 295.

The project is a collaborative effort among the town, Cumberland County Soil & Water Conservation District, the state, Casco Bay Estuary Partnership and watershed residents and businesses.

A CLOSER LOOK

More information on Concord Gully Brook is available at www.cumberlandswcd.org.

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