Many lakes, ponds and waterways in New England host large numbers of seasonal summer residences and camps. These seasonal populations pose special challenges for water quality protection. Summer residences and camps are often responsible for degradation of water quality, indicated by the presence of human pathogens, nutrients, elevated suspended sediment levels, pesticides, petrochemicals and other pollutants. Water quality monitoring reports from local groups throughout the region, recent studies, and work by town health officials indicate that coastal water quality may be negatively impacted by the large summertime influx of lakeside residents. Seasonal summer coastal residents are an underserved and difficult to reach target audience.
Populations are transient, relatively dense and constantly changing.
Often from inland locations, summer residents may also be less aware of water quality issues. Preliminary observations suggest that many do not access normally available pollution prevention or water quality information sources. Entire lakeshore communities rely on septic systems for human waste and domestic wastewater disposal. Many seasonal residents are unfamiliar with the limitations of septic systems or their maintenance and many of these septic systems are either failing or at risk of failure because of age or lack of proper maintenance. Local officials often lack resources to increase awareness of the problem among the seasonal population.