Commercial mowing and cleanups in Gray, Maine.

Gray's two wellhead protection districts, and the Business Transitional 2 district inside the Gray Water District's capture zone, exist to keep contaminants out of the town's drinking water. Chemical rules in the wellhead districts apply to commercial and agricultural handling of fertilizers and pesticides, while ordinary home lawn care is exempt. For those regulated activities, the ordinance allows only low-leachability pesticides applied by Maine-licensed applicators.

For a managed property near the Route 26 corridor, that points to a mowing program built on proper height and clippings left on the turf, with inputs reviewed against the district before anything is applied. Clippings returned to the turf supply part of the lawn's nitrogen, which cuts down on what has to be spread over an aquifer.

Spring cleanups clear winter sand and debris from plowed edges and islands, and the grass in zone 5b Gray tends to start growing later than on the coast. Fall cleanups remove leaves from turf and parking areas before snow. Yard waste from a Gray property is hauled away; the town's transfer station is limited to residents. Snow storage areas along parking lot edges get extra attention in April, because plowed piles leave behind sand, salt and flattened turf.