A Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) is a regulatory term in the U.S. Clean Water Act, describing a value of the maximum amount of a pollutant that a body of water can receive while still meeting water quality standards. Alternatively, TMDL is an allocation of that water pollutant deemed acceptable to the subject receiving waters. TMDLs have been used extensively by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state environmental agencies in implementing the Clean Water Act by establishing maximum pollution limits for industrial wastewater dischargers. Cobbossee Lake (MIDAS No. 5236) is a very large (5,238 surface acres and 32.2 square mile watershed) and complex waterbody which drains (in part) seven towns (Monmouth, Wales, Manchester, Winthrop, Readfield, West Gardiner, and Litchfield) in south-central Maine (DeLorme Atlas map page 12). It is a fairly deep lake with a maximum depth of 100 feet and a mean depth of 37 feet and is relatively non-colored (18 SPUs). Cobbossee Lake has a hydraulic retention time of 1.07 (flushes annually), and the direct drainage area is 32.34 square miles.