Watershed Management
With the Lake Winnisquam Watershed Based Plan completed in July of 2022, the Winnisquam Watershed Network (WWN) has begun a project to address pollution sources identified in that plan. Three high priority sites that discharge excess sediment and nutrients to the lake have been selected for the design and installation of structural Best Management Practices to manage stormwater. Funding for this project is provided in part by a Watershed Assistance Grant from the NH Department of Environmental Services with Clean Water Act Section 319 funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The project’s sites are in 3 towns: Laconia, Meredith and Sanbornton. The WWN will partner with the City of Laconia to address erosion caused by road runoff and wave action along the shoreline at the city-owned park at the terminus of Gale Ave. In Meredith, the WWN will work with the town and members of the Deer Park Association to manage stormwater runoff and reduce erosion at the Association’s beach. And in Sanbornton, the WWN will partner with the town to better manage drainage from Kaulback Road where it discharges into Black Brook, a tributary to Lake Winnisquam.
The engineering firm of Comprehensive Environmental Inc. of Merrimack NH has been engaged to provide design and permitting services. We are hoping to begin construction at the three sites later this year.
Although Winnisquam has excellent water quality it does, like other lakes in the region, face challenges. For the first time in several years there were two documented blooms of potentially harmful cyanobacteria on the lake last Summer. Harmful algae blooms are caused in part by excess nutrients, particularly phosphorus, in the water. The Lake Winnisquam Watershed Based Plan identified over 100 sites in the watershed that are sources of nonpoint pollution and outlined measures to be undertaken to reduce phosphorus loading and protect the water quality of the lake into the future. This project is the first step in the implementation of the plan.
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