PORTLAND — The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership has received a $630,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to promote the health of the Casco Bay watershed.

The grant was announced in a Sept. 27 press release by EPA spokesman David Deegan.

The Casco Bay Estuary Partnership, housed at the University of Southern Maine, will use the money to help reduce pollution from nutrients, for habitat protection and restoration, and provide community education, Deegan said.

As part of the National Estuary Program, the partnership helps protect a watershed that includes portions of 48 municipalities, with 575 miles of shoreline and 785 islands and ledges, Deegan said.