Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance

awwaadmin May 31st, 2008

As part of its Watershed-based Management Plan project, the Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance will be conducting watershed surveys of the lakes and ponds that make up the headwaters of the Salmon Falls River that lie all, or in part, in NH. This includes Great East Lake, Horn Pond, Lake Ivanhoe and Lovell Lake. The purpose of a watershed survey is to locate erosion sites on the roads and other developed areas around the lake or pond that may be having an impact on the lake or pond’s water quality and therefore decreasing property values.

A watershed is the area of land that slopes towards a lake or pond where rain and runoff will drain into the waterbody. Activities in the watershed that take place a long distance from the lake or pond can have as much impact on water quality as those that occur along the shoreline area. Great East Lake’s watershed covers 15.53 sq.mi., Horn Pond covers about 1.73 sq.mi., Lake Ivanhoe covers about .26 sq.mi. and Lovell Lake’s watershed covers about 4.7 sq.mi.

Locally-led watershed surveys such as this have been used successfully on neighboring Mousam Lake and throughout Maine and New Hampshire to document possible threats to water quality. The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance is not a regulatory agency, and the information we gather will not be used for any enforcement purposes or finger pointing. Landowner participation is purely voluntary. The information we gather from the surveys in Acton and Wakefield will be used to give us a better handle on the problems facing our lakes, help us work together to address these problems, and enable us to apply for grant funds that can be used to fix priority problems.

Phone: 603-473-2500 E-mail: info@AWwatersheds.org

.

Volunteers survey Horn Pond & Lovell Lake watersheds

The field work for the Horn Pond and Lovell Lake Watershed surveys was completed by the end of September thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of many volunteers and the generosity of the Acton Congregational Church & St. John the Baptist Episcopal Church for the donation of our meeting space.  The Lovell Lake Food Center, McKenzie’s Farm and the Lovell Lake Association donated goodies to keep the volunteers fueled.

20 volunteers and technical advisors surveyed the 200 properties within the Horn Pond watershed in June and a group of 34 tackled the 852 properties within the Lovell watershed! Fortunately the weather held for each training date and earlier torrential rains highlighted the erosion problems.

Before getting out into the field the volunteers learned the “whys” and “hows” of watershed surveys, and were trained to identify and document sites where eroding soil is washing into the lakes and streams. After the training session teams were formed, and then they ventured into the watersheds surrounding Horn Pond and Lovell Lake.  The teams collected information by observation and by speaking with homeowners. Data, including measurements, photographs and anecdotal accounts from the homeowners, was recorded and returned to the AWWA staff at the end of the day.

The volunteers and leaders reported having a very satisfying experience which included speaking with positive and concerned property owners, as well as learning, up close, what is happening that affects the quality of our lake and stream waters.

This information will be compiled into lake specific reports that will be used by homeowners, lake associations, towns, and AWWA to conduct improvement projects in the future.  AWWA will compile the data and issue the Horn Pond and Lovell Lake reports in the winter of 2009.  Anyone interested in the results is encouraged to contact AWWA.  Landowners whose properties had identified erosion issues will receive a letter notifying them of the problem and offering advice from AWWA.

AWWA will continue collecting information for the Salmon Falls Headwaters management plan with surveys of Great East Lake and Lake Ivanhoe watersheds in June of 2009.  The Wilson Lake Association will be conducting its watershed survey in April 2009 with the assistance of Maine DEP and AWWA.

The purpose of the Watershed Surveys are solely to gather information to lead to best management practices to improve and/or maintain the water quality in the Acton-Wakefield area. All homeowners are invited to join the survey teams and voluntarily permit their property to be included in the survey. If you would like further information or would like to volunteer AWWA can be reached at 603-473-2500 or info@AWwatersheds.org.