Moose Pond, located in Bridgton, Sweden and Denmark, passes by the foot of the Pleasant Mountain range and is a favorite spot for many anglers, boaters and swimmers. The causeway that now separates the north basin from the main basin was once a low wooden bridge on top of pine cribbing, which was built by cutting holes through the ice in the winter of 1834.
Moose Pond is divided into three distinct basins. The upper and lower basins both experience low dissolved oxygen concentrations in the deeper waters, which provides little habitat for coldwater fish species. Although oxygen depletion often limits summer habitat, the middle basin is managed primarily for landlocked salmon and lake trout. The pond also supports populations of largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, yellow perch, white perch, chain pickerel, hornpout, rainbow smelt, white sucker, fallfish, golden shiners, pumpkinseed sunfish and slimy sculpin.
South Basin: The average Secchi disk reading for 2022 was 6.9 meters, which falls into the moderately clear range. The average total phosphorus reading of 7.3 ppb falls into the moderate range. The average deep water phosphorus value was less than 10 ppb above average surface water phosphorus values, which suggests phosphorus recycling is not problematic. The chlorophyll-a average of 2.6 ppb falls into the moderate range. Long-term trend analysis indicates chlorophyll-a concentrations are stable, total phosphorus concentrations are increasing, and clarity readings are decreasing. This trend analysis is based on our 8-year long dataset and may not accurately represent long-term trends; however, trend analysis will be more precise as our dataset grows. The average color reading for 2022 was 23.3 SPU, indicating that water in Moose Pond’s south basin is moderately colored. Gloeotrichia echenulata density ranged from 0 through 3, with the highest density occurring in early August.
Main Basin: The average Secchi disk reading for 2022 was 7.7 meters, which falls into the high clarity range. The average total phosphorus reading of 5.5 ppb falls into the moderate range. The average deep water phosphorus value was less than 10 ppb above average surface water phosphorus values, which suggests phosphorus recycling is not problematic. The chlorophyll-a average of 3.4 ppb falls into the moderate range. Long-term trend analysis indicates chlorophyll-a concentrations in Moose Pond’s main basin are decreasing, total phosphorus concentrations are stable, and clarity readings are stable. The average color reading for 2022 was 26.9 SPU, indicating that water in Moose Pond’s main basin is highly colored. Gloeotrichia echenulata density ranged from 0 through 5, with the highest density occurring in early August.
North Basin: The average Secchi disk reading for 2022 was 4.9 meters, which falls into the moderately clear range. The average total phosphorus reading of 8.9 ppb falls into the moderate range. The chlorophyll-a average of 3.1 ppb falls into the moderate range. Long-term trend analysis indicates chlorophyll-a concentrations are stable, total phosphorus concentrations are stable, and clarity readings are stable. The average color reading for 2022 was 31.8 SPU, indicating that water in Moose Pond’s north basin is highly colored. Gloeotrichia echenulata density ranged from 0 through 2, with the highest density occurring in mid July.
Moose Pond middle basin’s surface water chlorophyll (ppb), phosphorus (ppb), and Secchi depth (meters)data comparison. Colored areas represent the long-term range of values, from minimum to maximum. Area thickness indicates frequency of measurements at that value. Area thickness increases as more measurements are reported at that value. The vertical black line represents the long-term average value. The large red dot represents
2022’s average value. The small red dots represent individual readings taken in 2022.
2022 Average vs. Long-term Average
Clarity: Moose Pond Main Basin’s 2022 average water clarity was within the ‘high clarity’ range. Moose Pond Main Basin’s long-term clarity trend is stable, indicating neither deeper nor shallower Secchi readings over time.
Chlorophyll: Moose Pond Main Basin’s 2022 average chlorophyll concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Moose Pond Main Basin’s long-term chlorophyll trend is decreasing, indicating that there is less chlorophyll in the water over time.
Phosphorus: Moose Pond Main Basin’s 2022 average phosphorus concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Deep water phosphorus values were not significantly above surface water phosphorus values indicating that phosphorus recycling was not an issue for Moose Pond Main Basin in 2022. Moose Pond Main Basin’s long-term total phosphorus trend is stable, indicating neither more nor less phosphorus in the water over time.
Moose Pond north basin’s surface water chlorophyll (ppb), phosphorus (ppb), and Secchi depth (meters) data comparison. Colored areas represent the long-term range of values, from minimum to maximum. Area thickness indicates frequency of measurements at that value. Area thickness increases as more measurements are reported at that value. The vertical black line represents the long-term average value. The large red dot represents
2022’s average value. The small red dots represent individual readings taken in 2022.
2021 Average vs. Long-term Average
Clarity: Moose Pond North Basin’s 2022 average water clarity was within the ‘moderately clear’ range. Moose Pond North Basin’s long-term clarity trend is stable, indicating neither deeper nor shallower Secchi readings over time.
Chlorophyll: Moose Pond North Basin’s 2022 average chlorophyll concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Moose Pond North Basin’s long-term chlorophyll trend is stable, indicating that chlorophyll concentrations in the water are neither higher nor lower over time.
Phosphorus: Moose Pond North Basin’s 2022 average phosphorus concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Deep water phosphorus values were not significantly above surface water phosphorus values indicating that phosphorus recycling was not an issue for Moose Pond’s North Basin in 2022. Moose Pond North Basin’s long-term total phosphorus trend is stable, indicating neither more nor less phosphorus in the water over time.
Moose Pond south basin’s surface water chlorophyll (ppb), phosphorus (ppb), and Secchi depth (meters) data comparison. Colored areas represent the long-term range of values, from minimum to maximum. Area thickness indicates frequency of measurements at that value. Area thickness increases as more measurements are reported at that value. The vertical black line represents the long-term average value. The large red dot represents 2022’s average value. The small red dots represent individual readings taken in 2022.
2022 Average vs. Long-term Average
Clarity: Moose Pond South Basin’s 2022 average water clarity was within the ‘moderately clear’ range. Moose Pond South Basin’s long-term clarity trend is decreasing, indicating shallower Secchi readings over time.
Chlorophyll: Moose Pond South Basin’s 2022 average chlorophyll concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Moose Pond South Basin’s long-term chlorophyll trend is stable, indicating that chlorophyll concentrations in the water are neither higher nor lower over time.
Phosphorus: Moose Pond South Basin’s 2022 average phosphorus concentration was within the ‘moderate’ range. Deep water phosphorus values were not significantly above surface water phosphorus values indicating that phosphorus recycling was not an issue for Moose Pond’s South Basin in 2022. Moose Pond South Basin’s long-term total phosphorus trend is increasing, indicating more phosphorus in the water over time.
In the spring of 2010, LEA worked with the Moose Pond Association and Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District to conduct a survey of erosion sites within the pond’s 11,170 acre watershed. As part of the project, volunteers and technical staff identified 178 erosion sites that are having negative impacts on the pond. Most of the sites documented were small but the cumulative impact of all these sites is substantial. The report includes a brief description, location information and recommendations on how to correct each problem. In addition to documenting erosion, the project served as an educational tool for citizens to learn about water quality and how our activities affect ponds and lakes. To view a copy of the recent survey click on: Moose Pond Watershed Survey. From 2012-2014, LEA worked on a much larger implementation project within the watershed to correct the worst problems that were identified during the survey. For more information about this aspect of the project, call LEA at 647-8580
12 percent of soils in the watershed are type A soils. Type A soils tend to be well drained sands, loams, and gravels. When vegetation is removed and the soil is exposed they can be susceptible to erosion. Because they are often coarse with ample pore space, there is low runoff potential and water will not usually pool on them. These soils can be good places to site leach fields or infiltrate stormwater from a home or residence.
12 percent of soils in the watershed are type B soils. B soils have moderate infiltration rates and fine to moderate texture and soil size. They are usually made up silts and loams. Although not as well drained as A soils, they can also be good places to site leach fields and infiltrate stormwater.
52 percent of soils in the watershed are type C soils. C soils have low infiltration rates and typically have a layer that impedes the movement of water. These soils are made of sands, clays, and loams and are one of the most common soil types in western Maine.
3 percent of soils in the watershed are type D soils. D soils have a high runoff potential and very low infiltration rates. Soils with a high water table, clay or other impervious layer near the surface are typically D soils. These soils are often associated with wetlands.
8 percent of soils in the watershed are type C/D soils. C/D soils are a mix of these two soil types. They have fairly high runoff potential and low infiltration rates and often pool water.
The remaining 13 percent of the watershed is taken up by the pond.
