Plan Implementation

Putting the management plan into action means tracking what we are going to do and when, and informing and involving the public.

 

Introduction

Putting the management plan into action is critical to achieving its recommendations and requires us to act on two main goals – document our progress in carrying the plan out, and informing and involving the public.

Photo of Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Heron

The themes identified at the beginning of this planning process will help guide implementation;

  • A partnership approach that relies on existing state and local agencies, nonprofit organizations, communities, and individuals to work together to implement the plan while building capacity within the watershed.
  • A subwatershed approach in which water quality protection efforts are focused along watershed rather than political boundaries.
  • An evolving plan that integrates new subwatershed planning efforts as they are developed, updates existing plans and allows flexibility to adapt to emerging issues, resources, and technology.

Long term monitoring of the lake’s health and measuring the success and weaknesses of the plan are also important. Informing and involving the public at the local level will be key to assure buy-in and support of adoption of land use regulations, as well as individual best management practices.

Ultimately, the Winnipesaukee Watershed needs a strong, coordinated, and effective organizational voice committed to advocacy, outreach, and education to assist in achieving the goals of the management plan.

Goal – Document progress and achievements resulting
from implementation of the plan

It is the intent and hope of this management plan that the strategies and best management practices identified by the communities become an action plan or road map to enable the communities to achieve the goal of halting or minimizing further water quality degradation due to nutrient inputs. In order to determine if the action plan is being implemented, interim, measurable milestones need to be identified, tracked and periodically reviewed to ensure continued progress in achieving the goals defined in the management plan.

Objective: Identify interim measurable milestones Return to Top

Based on the draft list of management measures and restoration sites identified by the MPSB Subwatershed Advisory Committee, the following measures/milestones by category are proposed:

Community/Social Milestones:

  • Amount of funding secured or donations received for continued plan implementation
  • Annual review and update of the Action Plan & Implementation Strategy
  • Number of new volunteers and sponsors for water quality monitoring
  • Number of new members to the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association
  • Change or adoption of local ordinances that address nonpoint source issues, i.e. Adoption of a Phosphorus Ordinance or Overlay District, stronger vegetative buffer  requirements
  • Implementation of a town septic system inspection/maintenance program
  • Number of homeowners who participate in streambank/vegetation buffer workshops
  • Number of homeowners who participate in residential demonstration projects/workshops

Structural BMPs and Restoration Site Milestones:

    Site needing replacement of rock swale with underground infiltration basin at Last Resort, Weirs Blvd., Laconia

  • Number of stormdrains/catch basins that are retrofitted
  • Number of miles of roadway that receive drainage improvements and Best Management Practices (BMPs)
  • Number of miles of eroded streambank that receive stabilization bmps
  • Number of miles of streambank that receive buffer improvements
  • Number of culverts retrofitted
  • Increase in stormwater sizing to accommodate 25 to 50 yr storm events
  • Adoption and implementation of low impact development techniques (LID)

Environmental milestones:

  • Water quality measurements demonstrating improvement
  • Reduction in erosion and sedimentation issues
  • Reduction in road washouts
  • Increase in acreage of land put in conservation
  • Increase observed in fish and wildlife key species, i.e. loon population, smelt, trout
  • Reduction in frequency and number of algal blooms
  • Reduction in number of beach postings/closures due to elevated E.coli (bacteria) levels

Objective: Establish and coordinate long term monitoring program Return to Top

In order for the communities to determine if phosphorus levels are being maintained or improving in the lake over the long term, monitoring of the water quality of the lake, streams, and changes in land use need to be tracked and documented.

  • Continue and expand participation in UNH’s NH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program
  • One key component or criterion will be an active and long term monitoring component to track in-lake phosphorus levels within each of the three subwatershed bay areas. In 2012, Lake Winnipesaukee will be divided into 10 Assessment Units for water quality reporting purposes. This is a major change from the current classification of Lake Winnipesaukee as one assessment unit. Continued monitoring of each assessment unit will be important to providing water quality data needed to assess trophic status of each basin area.

    UNH’s NH Lakes Lay Monitoring Program has been conducting a volunteer water quality monitoring program on Lake Winnipesaukee since 1982. The program has acquired long term data for many areas of the lake. UNH is able to perform statistical analysis and determine long term trends based on the large data set. A major component of this management plan will be outreach to communities to support and assist in the continued participation in the NH Lakes Lay Monitoring program, as well as expansion of water quality monitoring sites.

  • Establish an active water quality monitoring program that includes tributary, near shore and deep lake sites in each of the subwatersheds. Selection of sites, frequency of sampling, parameters measured, etc. will be based on identification of problem areas, land use, impairments, etc.
  • The three communities in this first phase of the management plan have also been participants in the NH Volunteer River Assessment Program, monitoring tributaries, outfalls, and ponds that contribute large volumes of water to the lake.

    For example: Gunstock Brook is a stream that contributes a significant sediment load to Saunders Bay. The stream empties into Mountain View Marina, requiring the marina to dredge every few years. There are several sites that have been identified as sources of the sediment load; tributary monitoring that brackets these sites will hopefully show improvement in water quality for turbidity, conductivity, and phosphorus after implementation of best management practices or restoration.

  • Track land use changes that impact natural resources and water quality in the Lake Winnipesaukee watershed.
  • Coordinate management and accessibility of Lake Winnipesaukee watershed data.
  • Integrate operations and maintenance plan/agreements into structural best management practices to assure ongoing maintenance that will ensure proper functioning.

Goal – Inform and involve the Public

Objective: Build local level implementation Return to Top

  • Maintain the existence of the Meredith, Paugus, Saunders Bay Subwatershed Advisory Steering Committee
  • The committee established for this Plan should continue to meet at a minimum on a quarterly basis to ensure coordination and implementation of actions identified in the plan. The continued involvement of the Steering Committee will help ensure representation of each community and various perspectives for decision making.

  • Expand and build on the Wi-CAN (Winnipesaukee Community Action Network) effort begun through the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association.
  • The Wi-CAN forums provide an opportunity for networking, sharing of information, collaboration, and involvement on specific projects.

Objective: Provide a resource for information Return to Top

  • Continue to develop and expand the Winnipesaukee Gateway website and its Watershed Management Plan section.
  • The website should serve as an informational resource to individuals and community officials; conveniently storing and retrieving information, maps, photos, on-going projects, water quality and site-restoration plans on a continuing basis. The website will create opportunities for students, professionals, and the general public to learn more about the watershed as the information is developed and released from credible sources.

Sustainability and the Plan’s Implementation Return to Top

Sustainability of the efforts begun here, and the implementation of the plan will require continuous oversight, outreach, education, financial support and public and private involvement of all stakeholders. Although many challenges still exist in achieving a comprehensive Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Management Plan, with commitment, collaboration, and coordination, the vision described ten years ago to balance recreational uses, development, and the economy with protection of water quality, and healthy ecosystems will be realized.

It is everyone’s responsibility to keep Lake Winnipesaukee a “beautiful water in a high place”.

Top photo by Dimitri Sokolenko