Description: Maine has had a water classification system since the 1950's. This classification system establishes water quality goals for the State. The classification system is used to direct the State in the management of its surface waters, protect the quality of those waters for their intended management purposes, and where standards are not achieved, direct the State to enhance the quality to achieve those purposes. The classification standards establish designated uses, related characteristics of those uses, and criteria necessary to protect the uses, and establish specific conditions for certain activities such as the discharge of wastewater.The State has four classes for freshwater rivers, three classes for marine and estuarine waters, and one class for lakes and ponds. A close comparison of the standards will show that there is actually not much difference between the uses or the qualities of the various classes. All attain the minimum fishable-swimmable standards established in the federal Clean Water Act. Most support the same set of designated uses with some modest variations in their description.The classification system should be viewed as a hierarchy of risk, more than one of use or quality, the risk being the possibility of a breakdown of the ecosystem and loss of use due to either natural or human-caused events. Ecosystems that are more natural in their structure and function can be expected to be more resilient to a new stress and to show more rapid recovery. Classes AA, GPA and SA involve little risk since activities such as waste discharge and impoundment are prohibited. The expectation to achieve natural conditions is high and degradation is unlikely. Class A waters allow impoundments and very restricted discharges, so the risk of degradation while quite small, does increase since there is some small human intervention in the maintenance of the ecosystem. Classes B and SB have fewer restrictions on activities but still maintain high water quality criteria. Finally, Classes C and SC have the least restrictions on use and the lowest (but not low) water quality criteria. Classes C and SC waters are still good quality, but the margin for error before significant degradation might occur in these waters in the event of an additional stress being introduced (such as a spill or a drought) is the least.
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Description: A collection of datasets for use with the DEP Lakes Program. Including NHD_Waterbodies and NHD_Area polygons with MIDAS numbers, IF&W lake depths, lake outlets and a single point with MIDAS number and name.