Abstract |
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. Sebasticook Lake (MIDAS No. 2264) is a relatively large 1,735 hectare (4,287 acre or 17.4 km2), single basin waterbody located in north-central Maine (DeLorme Atlas, page 22), within Penobscot and Somerset counties. The Sebasticook Lake watershed has a direct drainage area of 21,995 hectares, exclusive of the northwest situated Lake Wassookeag drainage (3,051 ha) and the Pleasant Lake drainage to the southeast (3,801 ha). |