NORWAY — The Lakes Association of Norway is asking the town to provide estimates for personnel and equipment to repair 12 erosion sites on town-owned property along Little Pennesseewassee/Hobbs Pond.

Margaret Innes, whose family has lived on Flint Lane along Hobbs Pond for 57 years, presented results from a recent survey of the pond during the Norway Select Board meeting Nov. 7.

“We’re very interested in the pond being protected,” Innes said.

She asked the board to have the highway department visit the erosion sites and provide estimates, while a grant through the Lakes Association will pay for any materials needed. 

There are 54 erosion sites along Hobbs Pond, 13 of which are considered “high impact.” Two of the high impact sites are on town property at the Little Pennesseewassee rest area and on Watson Road.

The association will prioritize the high impact sites first, according to Lakes Association President Sal Girifalco.

The pond has had algae blooms for at least three years and the survey has helped to “identify types and location of problem areas, provide recommendations to fix soil erosion, and raise public awareness on how to protect water quality,” according to the summary of the results.

The erosion sites are all contributing phosphorus to the pond, which is a big driver of the algae blooms.

“It’s absolutely a combination of all of them,” Girifalco said of the erosion sites and their contribution to the health of the pond. “That’s why we try to prioritize doing the highest impact [sites] first.”

The pond is listed as “threatened” on the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s nonpoint source pollution priority list, meaning it is “sensitive to additional phosphorus inputs that can be exacerbated by development and human activity in the watershed,” the report reads.

Innes reminded the board that Hobbs Pond also feeds into the larger Lake Pennesseewassee, which she called an economic driver for the town.

“Algae blooms are toxic,” she said.

The phosphorus comes from a combination of the erosion sites, unprotected culverts, gravel roads, a beaver dam, farms, sediment from the bottom of the pond, and is also exacerbated by climate change.

“There’s tons of erosion from a bunch of different places,” Innes said.

She noted that neighbors on Flint Lane have formed a road association to better address the erosion, raise funds, and apply for grants more easily.

The next step will be a meeting between representatives of the Lakes Association, Interim Town Manager Jeff Campbell, and Highway Department Foreman Steve Powers.

“This is what we’ve typically done and it’s worked really well,” Girifalco said.

The next meeting of the Norway Select Board will be at 7 p.m. Nov. 21.