Septic Evaluation of Septic Risk to Province Lake RFQ

The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA) has been awarded funding from NHDES, through a grant from Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, for implementation of the “Province Lake Watershed Management Plan Implementation Phase 1: Addressing High Priority Actions and Building Local Capacity” project. Province Lake lies in Wakefield and Effingham, NH and Parsonsfield, ME and is listed on the NHDES 303(d) list as impaired for Aquatic Life Use due to high levels of phosphorus and chlorophyll-a and for Primary Contact Recreation due to recurring cyanobacteria blooms.

AWWA invites interested contractors to submit qualifications for the development of the “Evaluation of Septic System Risk to Province Lake” program. The selected consultant will work closely with AWWA, the Province Lake Association, NHDES and other project stakeholders to evaluate high risk septic systems within the Province Lake watershed. 

For the full project description and to download the RFQ, please visit: Evaluation of Septic System Risk to Province Lake RFQ 2015

The Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA) has been awarded funding from NHDES, through a grant from Section 319 of the Clean Water Act, for implementation of the “Province Lake Watershed Management Plan Implementation Phase 1: Addressing High Priority Actions and Building Local Capacity” project. Province Lake lies in Wakefield and Effingham, NH and Parsonsfield, ME and is listed on the NHDES 303(d) list as impaired for Aquatic Life Use due to high levels of phosphorus and chlorophyll-a and for Primary Contact Recreation due to recurring cyanobacteria blooms.

AWWA invites interested contractors to submit qualifications for the development of a Road Management Plan for Bonnyman Road and Route 153. The selected consultant will work closely with AWWA, the Province Lake Association, NHDES and other project stakeholders to implement surface water quality restoration tasks within the Province Lake watershed.

For the full project description and to download the RFQ, please visit:

http://awwatersheds.org/province-lake-road-mgmt-plan-request-for-qualifications/

If you were out and about on the morning of August 23rd, you may have seen a bunch of people walking along Rte 153 with blue shirts on .. so who were they and what were they doing?

On that sunny morning, members of the Province Lake Association (PLA), Acton Wakefield Watersheds Alliance (AWWA), and concerned citizens in the area took to cleaning up the RT-153 beach at Province Lake. The cleanup began bright and early on Saturday morning as volunteers set out along the Rt-153 beach, picking up every piece of trash and debris they could find. Items found ranged in size from cigarette butts to signs, and over 2,400 pieces of trash were removed, resulting in 273 pounds of garbage being taken to the dump.

Yes we did use a household scale to weigh everything!

Some of the more disturbing items found on the beach were the 19 soiled diapers, 10 pieces of animal waste (i.e dog poop), and a used tampon. Sadly, we expected the hundreds (if not thousands) of cigarette butts picked up along Rt-153, however the most astonishing thing we found were the hundreds of remnants of fire crackers. Little bits and pieces of plastic, paper and cardboard littered the beaches from Fourth of July and other celebrations. The chemical issues with fireworks fired over lakes have been discussed before, however we were all surprised by the physical effect their casings leave on the landscape. The sheer amount and variety of trash on the beach is a sobering reminder of the need to increase the value of the lake in the minds of those who enjoy it.

The PLA beach cleanup was a resounding success this year, and we hope it becomes a lauded tradition on the lake as the summer winds down. With a bit of hard work, we might just find ourselves picking up less and less trash each year.

Special thanks to volunteers: Pete Dinger, Neil Rowe, Lorna Connelly, Ashley Connelly, Linda Schier, Donna Davis, Larry Moody, Carl Davis, Don Harrison, Rick Zani, Kathleen Zani, Phil Colburn, Marylyn Colburn, Kathi Healey, Loretta Campbell, Peter Campbell, Mindy-Schumann Vye, Tucker Vye, Jon Samuelson and Sam Wilson. Thanks for coming out on a Saturday morning to make Province Lake a better place to visit and live!

The Volunteers … or most of them.

For those that could not attend the annual meeting on July 19th, the link below is the presentation that FB Environmental gave as the final watershed plan.  Minutes from the meeting will be posted soon.

Province Lake Final Watershed Plan Presentation July 19 2014

Grab your family, friends and neighbors and join in the Rte 153 Beach Clean Up on August 23rd.  This will be a great opportunity to spend a short amount of time helping your lake and involving/teaching your kids too.  Although it is a long beach, it shouldn’t take too long, so come out and support the Watershed Plan.  See attached for more info and sign up.

Beach Cleanup Flyer 2014

The Q&A doc we created based on the input from several members and other area folks in regards to the Watershed Action Plan can be viewed by clicking the link below.  The draft version of the Action Plan was created at a meeting in mid January.  In order to get input from those not able to attend the meeting we gathered comments, questions and suggestions via phone and e-mail.  Thanks to all that contributed.  Some of the comments/suggestions resulted in edits to the action plan and the attached is the answers to the questions that came in.  Several questions were similar, so the wording may not be exactly what an individual had asked as we tried to consolidate them.  As always, any further comments, questions, suggestions or concerns you may have in regards to the Watershed Plan or anything else are always appreciated.  There will be more coming in regards to the Watershed Plan specifically as we look to have the final report ready for the Annual Meeting on July 19.  Here is the link:

PLA Q _A summary April 2014