Watershed Management Planning

What: Silver Lake Association of Madison (SLAM) has tee’d up a Watershed Management Plan Project for the Town of Madison to study the Silver Lake  watershed and provide recommendations for its protection.

Where: The study will cover the entire Madison portion of the Ossipee Watershed including streams, brooks, the Chain of Ponds, Cooks Pond, and Silver Lake. 

Why: We are experiencing higher average temperatures and extreme weather conditions more frequently. Events like the torrential rains of 2023 are washing chemicals, such as phosphorus from fertilizers, into our watershed at an unprecedented rate.  Silver Lake experienced its first recorded toxic cyanobacteria bloom in September of 2023 and PFAS have recently been found around the Madison Fire Department and in our Town wells. There is concern that other pollutants in lake sediment that were left behind by the lead mine, lumber mill, or other historical operations may similarly be at risk of being introduced into our watershed.  A watershed management plan will assess all such risks to the watershed and recommend mitigation steps including suggestions for managing future growth compatible with watershed protection. Importantly, having a watershed management plan will enable Madison to apply for additional state and federal funding such as Watershed Assistance 319 grants that help implement watershed conservation practices.

How: In coordination with the Town, SLAM applied for and received non-binding pre-approval for Madison to borrow up to $100,000 from the New Hampshire Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF). The loan is forgiven when DES approves the study, and SLAM will pay the interest. As such, there is no cost to the Town and its taxpayers. 

Current Status: On March 15, Town of Madison residents overwhelmingly voted in favor of proceeding with the watershed management plan project. Since then, Madison has executed a contract for the CWSRF funding and the steering committee that is overseeing the project has formed. The committee includes the following members:

Dave Scarborough – Representing SLAM

Bill Lord – Madison Resident, Co-author of CWSRF Application

Joe Dame – Representing the Advisory Budget Committee

Ralph Lutjen – Representing the Madison Conservation Commission

Josh Shackford – Representing the DPW

Paul Littlefield – Representing the Madison Planning Commission

Matt Vavro – Madison Resident

The committee’s general scope of work includes generating a request for quote (RFQ), evaluating and selecting an environmental engineering consulting firm from among the respondents, negotiating a contract with the firm, overseeing their work, and ensuring that the watershed management plan meets the requirements of Madison and the DES.

Please send questions or comments to lakemanager@silverlakemadison.com.