Here you see the mouth of Mill Stream flowing into Blue Hill Bay at low tide. The Stream’s once-robust flows powered several sawmills and provided freshwater to a blacksmith forge and other structures in the Town of Blue Hill. The forge structure now houses that gray restaurant atop the bridge, which has a lower floor at the Stream’s edge.
Mill Stream is no longer a robust source of freshwater and may be on its way to becoming little more than a ravine or ditch. The groundwater along the Maine coast also is lowering significantly and some wells have gone dry. The level of the salt water in the Bay, however, is rising yearly. And, we’re in the clutches of a drought that won’t let go despite a series of rainy days.
Whether or not you’re a Climate Change denier, you have to admit that all objective records show that our climate has been changing and affecting our fresh and salt waters in ways that are potentially harmful. If you are at least curious about the current freshwater situation here, study the latest weekly U.S. Drought Report map of Maine for the week ending last Wednesday:
(Photo taken in Blue Hill, Maine on October 15, 2026.)