The public is invited to attend an informatinal meeting, on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 10:30 am at the Shirley McFarland Community Center, in Sagamore Village.  The purpose of the meeting is to share details on a capital project scheduled to start in early April 2023 and to be completed by Ocdtober 31, 2023.

This green infrastructure project seeks to manage stormwater runoff in a creative, sustainable way and will improve water quality in Capisic Brook according to a press release releated by the city today.

This $1.8 mllion project will install 32 rain gardens in Sagamore Village, resulting in the absorption and treatment of stormwater runoff for nearly 17 acres of watershed area.  Normally this runoff would drain from the streets into Capisic Brook, but as a result of these rain gardens, pollutants will be removed from the water through soil filtration before heading to the Brook.  Nutrients present in the stormwater such as nitrogan and phosphorous, will help plantings to thrive. The overall goal of this project is to improve water quality in Capisic Brook which is classified as an Urban Impaired stream, by the Maine DEP.

Along with filtering of the stormwater, the green infrastructure is designed to provide aesthetic appeal and neighborhood beautification for the existing streetscapes in the neighborhood  The project also aims to provide minor traffic calming by using the rain gardens to reduce overall street widths at several locations throughout the neighborhood

This project was developed and managed by Portland’s Water Resources staff to comply with the city’s Capisic Brook Watershed Management plan which was adopted by Portland in 2012.