The Natural Resources Advisory Committee of Windham is working to improve protections on bodies of water that have been identified as polluted in the Windham, Grey and Falmouth areas, with a focus on lakes and streams.
 |
| McIntosh Stream in Lowell Preserve is just one of many streams, lakes and ponds that Windham's Natural Resources Advisory Committee helps to protect. COURTESY PHOTO |
“Our job is to make sure that the streams and lakes and ponds in Windham are protected from further degradation and in fact improved,” says Brown.
Most of Brown’s work has been on improving the environmental protections on Highland Lake, which he says is considered one of the most protected lakes in the state. Seeing these improvements, the committee was able to get many of the same protections to apply to the other lakes in town.
Brown started working with the town of Gray two years ago to get them to instill similar protection to the ones in Windham. They had a meeting on the morning of Feb. 10 to discuss these protections and how they will focus these protections on lakes and streams.
Windham has five streams that are impaired and most of the lakes and ponds are on the Department of Environmental Protection list of most at risk of new development.
Brown says the committee’s solution is to keep its focus on increasing water protections, with some additional emphasis on the Pleasant River watershed and on Blackbrook Preserve.
While the lakes are monitored by local lake associations, it’s hard to get people invested in the streams.
“It’s hard to get the same enthusiasm as you get for a lake,” said Brown.
Recent focus of the NRAC has been on the Pleasant River, where there is already an established watershed program. However, watershed programs come in 10-year spans and it’s reaching the end of its term.
Recognizing that a large part of the river in located in Gray, Brown says the committee is working with the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust to focus water testing that’s done on many of the streams in the Windham, Portland, Westbrook area on the Pleasant River. It originates in the town of Gray and follows U.S. Route 202 as it flows through the town of Windham to discharge into the Presumpscot River upstream in South Windham.
It was discovered that the land trust has water testing sites for the Pleasant River, but they are all located in Windham. Brown was able to identify a spot on the Windham and Falmouth town line to find out if the water enters Windham in bad shape, or if Windham is causing the pollution. What was found is that the water coming in from Gray was already impaired. Brown is now working with the town of Gray to upgrade their water protection ordinates in the town.
“Sustainably encompasses environmental, economic, and social concerns, which are not mutually exclusive,” says Mary Wicklund, Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator in Windham. “No matter which perspective you choose, sustainability initiatives for the town are driven by the desire to create a more resilient future for our community.”
Wicklund started as the Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator for the Town of Windham in mid-September. The position of Environmental and Sustainability Coordinator is a specialized professional and technical position with responsibility for developing comprehensive policy and a strategic plan that encompasses current and long-term environmental initiatives towards a more environmentally sustainable future – including planning, managing, and coordinating the activities and implementation of the Stormwater Management Program.
This position has three priority areas:
MS4/Stormwater – Implement Windham’s MS4 General Permit with including annual inspections of stormwater infrastructure, conducting illicit discharge detection and elimination follow-up, providing technical training to municipal staff and board/committee members, and developing outreach for the community on issues relating to stormwater. Windham is a member of the Interlocal Stormwater Working Group (ISWG), a coalition of 14 municipalities and two nested communities in the greater Portland and Saco areas, who work together to address stormwater pollutants.
Watershed Management – Responsibility for coordinating watershed monitoring and protection efforts across the municipality. The town is partnering with Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District to identify, prioritize, and strategize ways to effectively protect and improve threatened or impaired waters. Efforts include working with the CCSWCD during efforts to implement and update the Pleasant River Watershed Management Plan and supporting the Presumpscot Regional Land Trust on volunteer water quality monitoring. With support from the Natural Area Resources Committee, the town offers Watershed Protection Grants to support watershed protection/improvement efforts throughout the Town.
Sustainability - Coordinate Town strategic plan and policies that encompass current and long-term initiatives toward a more environmentally and economically sustainable future.
According to Wicklund, Windham has more than 30 significant waterbodies that provide immeasurable benefits including high property values, tourism funding, and recreation opportunities such as boating, kayaking, canoeing, swimming, fishing, ice skating.
“Sustainability can be viewed from many angles,” Wicklund said. It may be protecting our numerous waterbodies for both environmental protection and economic growth or it may be reducing the municipality’s energy use. It may be looking at the comprehensive plan, and land use planning.”
Past actions taken by the Natural Resources Advisory Committee include coordinating a town-wide LED streetlight conversion, installing a 504-kilowatt solar array on the town’s former landfill, and updating the town’s Energy Plan.
The Natural Resources Advisory Committee was first established in Windham in 1997, with the purpose of serving as an advisory body to the Windham Town Council on issues related to the protection and enhancement of the community's natural resource base. It was amended in 2011 and again in 2017 but had had gone dormant for some time until it was reintroduced in 2018.
The Natural Resources Advisory Committee is responsible for identifying problems, recommending solutions and proposing policy goals for consideration by the Town Council which will preserve, protect, and enhance the community’s natural resources. In addition, they update town councilors about the status of the community’s natural resources, assist with the investigation of current and/or potential threats to the community’s natural resources and help educate the public on short-term and long-term threats to the community’s natural resources.
The committee meets on the third Wednesday of each month at 5:30 p.m. at the Windham Town Hall. <
No comments:
Post a Comment