Penjajawoc Stream

Penjajawoc Stream is one of six urban impaired streams in Bangor. Its watershed covers much of eastern Bangor. A watershed management plan for the Penjajawoc was completed in 2008. The City of Bangor has plans to update its watershed management plan for Penjajawoc Stream by 2027.  A draft Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Report was written by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) in 2022 and is scheduled to be finalized in 2023.

Penjajawoc stream watershed includes Meadow Brook tributary, and another tributary that flows through the cemeteries on Mount Hope Avenue, sometimes referred to as Cemetery Brook. 

The water quality of Penjajawoc Stream has been assessed by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), and determined not to meeting state water quality standards for aquatic life use. The stream is listed on the Maine DEP Chapter 502 list of urban impaired streams and is also on the 303(d) vision list.  Chloride pollution from winter maintenance activities for roads and parking areas is also believed by the Maine DEP to have an adverse effect on Penjajawoc Stream.

Watershed Management Plan

The City of Bangor began to update its watershed management plan for Penjajawoc Stream starting in Late Summer of 2023 and plan to publish a new plan by the end of 2024. A Stream Corridor Survey was completed in September 2023, and a report was published in March 2024, and available to view in the link below. For more information or to get involved in the process, contact Richard May at 992-4243 or richard.may@bangormaine.gov.

Stream Corridor Survey, March 2024

The most recently approved Watershed based plan for Penjajawoc Stream is from 2008. This plan is no longer active since the plans only remain valid for 10 years at the Maine DEP. The City drafted an update this plan in 2015, but this effort was unsuccessful because the plan did not adequately address chloride pollutants in the watershed.

Watershed Management Plan 2008

Projects

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Projects completed 2009-2010

- Lower Hogan Road Storm Water Improvements - This project installed StormTech chamber systems underneath parts of the Quirk Auto Park. The system treats stormwater from a portion of Hogan Road as well as part of Quirk Auto Park.

- Upper Hogan Road Storm Water Improvements - This involved the installation of an under-drained grass swale on the southern edge of the former K-mart property and the installation of a StormTech system on the adjacent City-owned right-of-way. Both treat stormwater before it reaches the stream. The project was completed in the spring of 2010.

- Bangor Mall/Borders Ground Water Bypass - A new drainage pipe is now diverting approximately 150 gallons per minute of clean cool ground water from underneath the Bangor Mall and Borders directly into the Penjajawoc, where previously the water had flowed into a retention pond. This increases the stream's base flow and decreases its temperature. This project was completed in the fall of 2009.

- Penjajawoc Stream Channel Restoration Project - This project reconstructs the Penjajawoc Stream channel between Bangor Mall Boulevard and I-95, decreasing the cross-sectional area, increasing the stream's velocity and dissolved oxygen content, and restoring the alignment to more closely mimic a natural channel. The work was done in the summer of 2010.

- Stillwater Avenue Storm Water Improvement Project - Filterra tree box filters treating runoff from the 753 Stillwater Avenue parking area were installed during the summer of 2010.

- EMCC Storm Water Treatment Project - A portion of a parking lot was built using porous pavement, which allows stormwater to filter through the pavement into the ground, reducing the rate of runoff.

Future Projects

• Future Projects to improve water quality and habitat in Penjajawoc Stream Watershed will be guided by the development of an updated watershed-based plan.This development of this plan is scheduled to begin in 2023.