SUN JOURNAL • June 18, 2023
The damage to the quality of water in Lake Auburn — and its cost if Auburn’s mayor and council make the changes they have planned — could require between an estimated $30 to $40 million for a filtration system. Water rates would at least double in Auburn, Lewiston and Poland. This is absolutely unnecessary. Keeping Lake Auburn clean involves making sure that the two major pollutants — phosphorus and nitrogen — are monitored aggressively and that their entry into the lake is strongly limited. Seventy-eight percent of the land around Lake Auburn was forested before the deforestation of the former dump began, and a healthy forest surrounding a lake is the most effective way to keep a lake clean. ~ Jim Wellehan