All News Releases By Date

EPA and State Will Conduct Dye Study on Narraguagus River October 16-17

Release Date: 10/12/2007
Contact Information: Tim Bridges (617) 918-8603 Brooke Chamberlain Cook (617) 918-1083

(Milbridge, Maine - Oct. 12, 2007) - Scientists and engineers from EPA’s New England Regional Laboratory, together with staff from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MEDEP) and Maine Department of Marine Resources (MEDMR) Public Health Division will begin conducting dye tracing studies in the Milbridge area on October 16th. They will be tracking the flow and dispersion of water in the Narraguagus River from the Milbridge Wastewater Treatment Plant as well as the discharge from Ray Industries in Milbridge, Maine.

EPA in conjunction with state of Maine agencies will produce dispersion maps of the Narraguagus River near Milbridge from the Milbridge wastewater treatment plant outfall and the Ray Industries discharge. Information from this study will be used to aid in determination of shellfish closure areas as well as permitting these discharges. Rhodamine WT dye will be released the morning of October 15th at the Milbridge Wastewater Treatment Plant for an extended period of time. On October 17th, the Ray Industries discharge will be dye studied. As a result of the dye injections, portions of the Narraguagus River may turn reddish in color for a brief time in surrounding areas of Milbridge; however, the dye is not harmful to people or the ecosystem.

More information:

- EPA's ecological field monitoring in New England (epa.gov/region1/lab/ecology)
- Maine DEP water monitoring and assessment (maine.gov/dep/blwq/monitoring)
- Maine DMR Research and monitoring (maine.gov/dmr/researchsurveys)

# # #