Being a Lake Minded Resident

Landscaping & Gardening provides advice on the selection, planting, and care of trees, shrubs, and ground covers — most of them native to New Hampshire — that fit settings along a lake shore or stream bank. Not only do these plantings enhance the beauty of a waterside property, but they work well to keep soil in place, helping prevent stormwater runoff that can carry large amounts of phosphorus into the water. Phosphorus acts as a fertilizer for green plants — good for suburban lawns but a source of weed and algae growth when it migrates into a water body. As an added advantage, use of native plants reduces the amount of care that landscaping requires, since the trees and shrubs naturally thrive in our climate.

Watershed-Friendly Landscapers is a list of landscapers who are familiar with the unique challenges and concerns of working within a delicate eco-system.

Strategies for stormwater management comprises a list of more than a dozen brochures describing methods for dealing with stormwater runoff on a small scale.

“Preventing Non-Point Source Pollution” provides guidance on avoiding actions that can lead to the contamination of surface waters from residential properties. Non-point source pollution is the type that does not have an easily identifiable source and can arise from broad land areas such as shoreline residential neighborhoods. It can include runoff from roads  (including  poorly maintained gravel roads), erosion of residential yards caused by rain and melting snow, and runoff from farms and lawns. Pollutants from these sources include: phosphorous-laden sediment, animal wastes and associated bacteria, pesticides, fertilizers, toxic substances, road salt, and fluids from automobiles.

Building a Storm GAURDen showcases the benefits of constructing a rain garden or “Storm GAURDen” on your property, as well as photos of the one built at our offices in the summer of 2021.

Strategies for stormwater management comprises a list of more than a dozen brochures describing methods for dealing with stormwater runoff on a small scale.

“Preventing Non-Point Source Pollution” provides guidance on avoiding actions that can lead to the contamination of surface waters from residential properties. Non-point source pollution is the type that does not have an easily identifiable source and can arise from broad land areas such as shoreline residential neighborhoods. It can include runoff from roads  (including  poorly maintained gravel roads), erosion of residential yards caused by rain and melting snow, and runoff from farms and lawns. Pollutants from these sources include: phosphorous-laden sediment, animal wastes and associated bacteria, pesticides, fertilizers, toxic substances, road salt, and fluids from automobiles.

Water Runoff Mitigation Planning includes site visit notes from the NH Department of Environmental Services, with recommendations on protecting the Watershed through water mitigation.

Strategies for stormwater management comprises a list of more than a dozen brochures describing methods for dealing with stormwater runoff on a small scale.

“Preventing Non-Point Source Pollution” provides guidance on avoiding actions that can lead to the contamination of surface waters from residential properties. Non-point source pollution is the type that does not have an easily identifiable source and can arise from broad land areas such as shoreline residential neighborhoods. It can include runoff from roads  (including  poorly maintained gravel roads), erosion of residential yards caused by rain and melting snow, and runoff from farms and lawns. Pollutants from these sources include: phosphorous-laden sediment, animal wastes and associated bacteria, pesticides, fertilizers, toxic substances, road salt, and fluids from automobiles.

“Septic Systems: How Do They Work? How Do You Maintain Them?” explains the components and the workings of septic systems and provides tips on extending their effective lifetimes. As the brochure explains, poorly maintained or failing septic systems can leach their contents, including pathogens and chemicals, into the soil and underlying groundwater, from where those pollutants can make their way into nearby surface water such as lakes and streams. It is estimated that 5 percent to 10 percent of the phosphorus found in our waters are the result of leaching from nearby septic systems.

Water Runoff Mitigation Planning includes site visit notes from the NH Department of Environmental Services, with recommendations on protecting the Watershed through water mitigation.

Waves & Wakes: How Boating Regulations play a role in lake safety and health.

• “Water Quality Analysis and Water Quality Goal Setting” provides critical information to support the development of a watershed-based management plan aimed at maintaining or improving the high-quality waters of the Lake Wentworth/Crescent Lake watershed. Historical water quality monitoring data is used for determining the median phosphorus values (as well as trends in several additional key water quality parameters, including water clarity, chlorophyll-a, color, and dissolved oxygen) and the assimilative capacity of each lake, as well as for determining the water quality goal for each lake. The analysis includes a comparison of historic (2000 and earlier) and recent (2001-present) total phosphorus monitoring results and a seasonal analysis (samples collected between May 15 and October 15), as well as a summary of available data and sources of this data.
• “Lake Wentworth and Crescent Lake Nutrient Modeling” describes the use of a mathematical model to estimate the amount of phosphorus entering Lake Wentworth and Crescent Lake from various sources.
• “Wentworth/Crescent Septic and Stormwater Survey Report” provides findings of the septic and stormwater surveys conducted in the summer of 2011  in the Lake Wentworth/Crescent Lake watershed as part of the watershed management plan for these waters.
• “Wentworth/Crescent Septic and Stormwater Survey Appendices” provides graphical and tabular support data from the two surveys.
• “Wentworth/Crescent Septic and Stormwater Survey Summary” offers a one-page synopsis of the fuller septic and stormwater survey report.
• “Buildout Analysis: Wolfeboro and Brookfield, NH” (part 1) describes the conditions (available land, zoning and geographical constraints, etc.) that define the extent to which additional development can take place in the watershed.
• “Buildout Analysis: Wolfeboro and Brookfield, NH” (part 2) describes the possible scope and schedule of future development within the watershed.
• The following presentations from the July 9, 2012, stakeholder meeting at the Wolfeboro Inn:
  –  Introduction. Presents an overview of the Wentworth/Crescent Watershed Management Plan and a preview of the remaining presentations.
  – Water Quality Analysis.  Provides a summary of results from 20+ years of water quality testing in Lake Wentworth and Crescent Lake.
  – Pollutant Load Analysis. Provides an overview of how scientific modeling has provided detailed information about the various sources of phosphorus input into the lakes.
  –  Buildout Analysis. A look at how development in Wolfeboro might look if fully implemented over the course of several decades under current town zoning regulations.
  –  Septic and Stormwater Survey. Present the findings of the August 2011 door-to-door survey of septic system age and use as well as stormwater runoff issues around Wentworth and Crescent.
  –  Planning Best-Management Implementations. Explains how sites with serious runoff issues were identified and the plans being made to deal with them.
• “Wolfeboro Municipal Ordinance Review” provides an analysis of the standards incorporated into existing land use and zoning ordinances in the Town of Wolfeboro. Specific recommendations are provided to suggest improvements to land use and zoning ordinances in order to better protect surface waters.
• “Wentworth/Crescent Watershed Management Plan” summarizes the findings of the watershed management project and provides data and guidance for next steps in protecting the surface waters of the watershed.
• “Appendices: Wentworth/Crescent Watershed Management Plan” provides technical data supporting the watershed management plan. NOTE: This file is 38 MB in size and may take significant time to download.