Water is one of our most precious resources, and needs to be protected.

A series of meetings will be launched as a community effort to understand and address issues around groundwater extraction in Maine. The first meeting will be held on Wednesday, May 31 at 6:30 p.m. at Stevens Brook Elementary School in Bridgton.

Topics will include:

• The Hydrologic Cycle: An Underground Science Overview. Catherine DiPietro, a process engineer with extensive experience in working with municipal, regional and utility association clients to improve water treatment and quality, will define the difference between an aquifer and a watershed and clarify the complex relationship between groundwater and surface water. DiPietro will also touch on how data is gathered through water monitoring and metering.

• Water Protection & Quality: An Overview of the Health of Our Maine Waters. Colin Holme, executive director of Lakes Environmental Association, will address the ever-evolving and complicated science of surface water health from a whole watershed perspective. Phosphorus, nitrogen, PFAS, invasive species, drought and climate change are just some of the issues and trends that threaten the health of ground and surface waters. How do deforestation and large-scale water extraction further impact them?

• The Impacts of Commodification of Water: Extraction, Transportation & Exportation. Nickie Sekera, co-founder of Community Water Justice, will provide an overview of Maine law governing the extraction, commodification, transportation and exportation of water. She will discuss the urgent need for policy on a statewide level and pending bills that have been introduced in the legislature to regular large-scale extraction.

• Conclusion: Next Steps for Community Members. Catherine DiPietro will offer attendees ways to become citizen scientists by metering/monitoring their water use and creating a data point in their home. The group will provide a list of local and state organizations who are engaged in the ongoing work of protecting, preserving and maintaining waters into the future.

There will be an audience/speaker Question & Answer session. Light refreshments will be served.