Watershed Management Planning

Okay, first, what is it?  The Watershed-based Management Plan is a Department of Environmental Services program that helps identify environmental stressors to towns and areas of the State.  Water flows down.  What’s in the ground that it picks up?  Is it in your drinking water?  Does it flow into the lake where you swim & boat?  Think about all the hills around Madison, e.g., Mt Chocorua, Deer Hill, Tasker Hill, Edelweiss, Mooney & Goe Hills.  What happens there, influences not only Silver Lake, but our entire Town.  So led by SLAM’s Vice President Dave Scarborough and member Bill Lord, they learned about, met with DES, and filled out the 15-page application to justify why Madison should be a recipient of a grant/loan from the State which will help identify best management practices, funding sources and partners to maintain and improve water quality to both our lake and the Madison watershed. The Town approved and forwarded the application!

Why?  We’ll discuss the specifics of the Plan in a future article, but the scope is to ensure Madison and Silver Lake:

• Maintains the good (unimpaired) water quality we have.
• Remediates an E. coli impairment at Monument Beach.
• Assesses the risks that are unique to the Silver Lake watershed.
• Assesses the general risks of climate change and on-going development.
• Identifies proactive steps that can be taken to help Madison’s DPW prioritize work.
• Protects Town tax revenue from Lake home values.
• Provides Madison with a prerequisite for mitigation funding dollars.

Our Timetable:

• Application was submitted July 2024; due to State Sep 2024 for competitive selection.
• Maximum of $100,000 grant/loan was awarded by NH/DES to Town of Madison pending warrant article approval by the town voters.
• SLAM will pay the $1,500 interest on grant/loan. After DES approval of the work, the loan is forgiven!
• Dave Scarborough & Ted Kramer, our SLAM President, met with Madison Conservation Commission Nov 2024 to partner. “A no-brainer!”  They’re in!
• Dave, Bill Lord, & Ted met with Advisory Budget Committee Nov 2024. Approved!
• Dave, Bill & Ted met with the Board of Selectmen Nov 2024.
• A Warrant Article will be presented to the Madison Voters in March 2025. If it passes, a Proposal to Bid will be advertised and contract awarded to environmental expert consultants and the year-long study will commence.
• Then the hard work – implement their recommendations and suggestions.

Watershed – who really thinks about it?  We don’t know what we don’t know.  But we’ll learn and hopefully, all have a better life because of it!