What is 62 pages long, chocked full of background information and has been just finished by the Sunapee Area Watershed Coalition? The newly minted Watershed Management Plan for the Sunapee Area.
This living document is the result of two year’s work on the part of representatives of the Sunapee Watershed towns and was supported by a DES Pilot Grant for establishing just such Watershed Plans. The Granite State Rural Water Association (GSRWA) and the Upper Valley Regional Planning Commission also played important parts. The Sunapee Plan is the second of its kind in the state of New Hampshire and will be a model for other communities; GSRWA staff helped the local representatives actually write the plan, as this is one of their expertises.
The plan is currently being delivered to the towns, together with priority recommendations. Copies will also be available on the web, (www.lakesunapee.org or www.sunapeewatershed.org), in the local and state libraries, as well as at DES offices.
Of the many recommendations, the top three priority topics selected by the Watershed Committee are: storm-water runoff, septic systems and achieving understanding and compliance with existing regulations and best practices. The committee also suggests action plans relevant to each topic.
The purpose of the plan is to protect water resources. Given that all activities in the watershed (land) affect the water in an area, ground and surface, the plan addresses topics such as land use, hazardous storage, density and growth patterns, roads, community and private wells, etc. Data was included from various state sources, such as the VLAP (Volunteer Lake Assessment Program), GRANITE database, and other state and EPA sources. Lake Sunapee Protective Association staff obtained the pilot grant initially and LSPA staff helped the group collect relevant data, speak with water, sewer and various agency personnel. Data from Colby Sawyer College’s CES program projects and GIS maps were also used.
The project yielded a valuable report, which has all the relevant data included, some of which is in GIS format. Towns can refer to this data for their Master Planning and other municipal projects.
The Sunapee watershed towns are currently applying some of the principles referred to in the Plan. Newbury at its recent Town Meeting passed an ordinance requiring new building projects to limit stormwater flow, and hands out a very well written Stormwater Management Guide to building permit applicants. New London also has looked at the stormwater problem and is instituting several changes and uses an information pamphlet similar to one used in Springfield.
The Committee working on this Watershed Management Plan collaborated not only on creating the plan, but each committee member took to their respective town committees, whether Conservation Committee or Planning Boards, or Zoning, etc, useful information gleaned by being a part of the project. Everyone learned something valuable to bring to their respective town.
There might be value in having boards and committees from the area towns meeting occasionally to compare notes and discuss solutions. We are all in this watershed area together; what we do or don’t do now will affect our children tomorrow. Meanwhile, congratulations to the dedicated volunteers of SAWC and to LSPA staff for their continued tremendous efforts!
Date published on web site:
05-30-2008
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