AUBURN, Maine — Officials with the City of Auburn announced bold steps in their continued effort to protect Lake Auburn in Auburn.
At the next meeting, the Auburn City Council “will take a historic vote that will start the process of prohibiting any future homes/animal farms within the portion of the Lake Auburn watershed zoned Agriculture and Resource Protection," according to an email by City of Auburn Communications & Community Engagement Director Liz Allen.
Allen said city officials will move forward with its plans despite the unresolved lawsuit brought by the City of Lewiston against the Auburn Water District.
“After failed attempts to help resolve this matter, the Auburn City Council will take action to protect the quality of the lake by implementing smart policy,” Auburn Mayor Jason Levesque said in the email.
Allen described the ordinances to protect Lake Auburn as "fair, easier to understand, and based on the best available science.”
Allen said the city has already implemented other methods to protect Lake Auburn including strict phosphorus control and zoning standards that encourage housing development in areas outside the watershed district. Its next steps will include septic ordinance revisions.
Mayor Levesque said the city of Auburn must not allow poor septic systems to be replaced with systems "that are polluting our drinking water."