PORTLAND, Maine (AP) – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded a Maine university more than $650,000 to support a water conservation effort in Casco Bay.

The EPA is giving the money to the University of Southern Maine in support of the university’s Casco Bay Estuary Partnership and its Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.  The partnership’s goal is to reduce nutrient pollution in the bay, which is a major driver of tourism, recreation and fisheries in southern Maine.

Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King say the investment will help USM “preserve the waters around these beautiful islands for generations to come.”