The fiscal year 2024 municipal budget was approved by the Scarborough Town Council after a second reading and vote on the proposed fiscal year 2024 municipal budget on June 7. It includes funding for two projects to support significant natural areas in Scarborough. The Engineering Department request includes an update of the 2011 Red Brook Watershed Management Plan ($100,000) and for a Sawyer Street Study and Spurwink Marsh Restoration ($35,000).
The latest Red Brook Watershed Management Plan was created in 2011 with the Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District. A new Federal permit required by the Clean Water Act was issued to the town of Scarborough in 2022 and requires the town to update the 2011 plan.
The Red Brook watershed covers 3.2 square miles in Scarborough, South Portland, and a small section of Westbrook. It is a 7.15-mile long freshwater stream and is a tributary to Clark’s Pond. Courtesy photo
The permit allows the town to direct storm water into local waterways as long as the town complies with the permit requirements. The Engineering and Technical Services Department coordinates the town’s storm water program.
The Red Brook watershed covers 3.2 square miles in Scarborough, South Portland, and a small section of Westbrook. It is a 7.15-mile long freshwater stream and is a tributary to Clark’s Pond, which flows to the Fore River and Casco Bay. The majority of the watershed is located along the Payne Road commercial corridor and the I-295 and I-95 interchanges.
Red Brook is listed as an “Urban Impaired Stream” by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), which means pollution levels make it difficult for stream life to survive. An updated watershed plan will identify projects and initiatives to undertake to improve the stream’s water quality, allowing the town to continue to make progress in restoring this stream in an efficient and well-planned manner.
Another environmental project proposed in the fiscal year 2024 budget is for a Sawyer Street Study and Spurwink Marsh restoration. Sawyer Street is a town road that crosses the Spurwink Marsh and is shared with Cape Elizabeth. The road frequently floods during astronomical high tides and storm events, and the number of times Sawyer Street floods continues to rise.
In 2018, the towns of Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth completed a study to understand the upgrades that would be needed to maintain a usable road given various sea level rise scenarios. The study’s outcome indicated that the road would need to be significantly raised, costing several million dollars. Given the other critical infrastructure investments needed in both municipalities, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth are exploring road removal as an alternative.
A 2022 workshop with the Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth town councils indicated support for studying this approach.
Scarborough, Cape Elizabeth, and partners are in the process of applying for a $300,000 grant to support the restoration of Spurwink Marsh and study the removal of Sawyer Street where it crosses the marsh. The town’s $35,000 contribution serves as a local match for the grant, and the town of Cape Elizabeth also intends to contribute $35,000 in matching funds to the project.
Additionally, the town council approved funding for an Open Space Conservation Plan and Vulnerability Assessment, both successfully included later in the budget review process after adjustments were made. The emphasis on environment-related project investments support the town council’s 2023 goal toward Sustainability, Conservation, and Climate Change to, “Develop a plan to conserve more land in Scarborough and better integrate conservation and sustainability principles into our planning processes.”
For more information, visit www.scarboroughmaine.org/budget/fy2024.
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