Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Protecting Lake Winnipesaukee's water quality - one lot at a time!

Managing and treating stormwater is an important and critical strategy for lake protection.  Stormwater’s impact is cumulative; as it travels from the top of a hillside or mountain downstream toward the lake, it collects the runoff from each area and adds to the total volume of flow, thereby increasing the pollution load that the lake receives.

To help homeowners learn about some simple and effective ‘Do it Yourself’ stormwater improvement projects, the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association is holding their Annual Meeting on August 2nd at the Dockham Shore Estates beach in Gilford, NH from 6:30pm to 8:00pm.  The program will feature simple but effective practices that the NH Lakes Conservation Corps is installing this summer at the beach area on Dockham Shore Road to address erosion issues and help the association reduce their stormwater footprint.

Improvements planned include installing a rain garden, removing an asphalt swale and apron, planting low growing shrubs along the road frontage, and redirection of stormwater into vegetated areas. 

The program is free and open to the public; please bring a lawn chair as the program will be held outdoors.  Pre-registration is requested.  For more information visit LWWA’s website:  www.winnipesaukee.org or contact the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association at 581-6632 or email at mail@winnipesaukee.org to register. 

Friday, July 6, 2012

Septic Sense Workshop

It's not sexy.  It's not pretty.  It's not a riveting topic of conversation.  And it smells bad.

So why would we want to blog about it?  Poop, pee, waste - one flush or two, and it's gone.
Forget about it, right?  As long as it's 'left the building' we don't really care.  But if you live on the lake you should care and you should know what happens to that 'stuff', because chances are that you have an on site wastewater disposal system, or what's more commonly referred to as a septic system.

The majority of folks on Lake Winni have septic systems; the Winnipesaukee River Basin Program sewer line runs from Center Harbor down along the shorefront of Meredith (does not include Meredith Neck) to Laconia, picking up both sides of Paugus Bay and continues to Franklin.  From the southern part of the lake, it starts at Ellacoya State Beach and picks up most of the lake front of Gilford, before connecting with the pipeline in Laconia.

For the majority of folks not on sewer, care and maintenance of their septic system should be a priority, because it is a critical component of your home and a failing septic system is not only costly to repair or replace, but can potentially impact your health and that of your neighbors.

To help people better understand how septic systems work, the Lake Winnipesaukee Watershed Association (LWWA) and the Town of Meredith are hosting a "Septic Sense" workshop on July 16th at the Meredith Community Center, Room A, from 6:30pm to 8 pm.  Professionals and experts will be on hand to explain about the different types of systems out there, proper maintenance and care, "Do's and Don'ts", the signs of a failing septic and what to do about it, alternatives to traditional systems, and the water quality and public health impacts. 

Although the workshop is free, pre-registration is required.  Please contact LWWA at 581-6632 or the Town of Meredith at 677-4228 to register. 

It's sure to be a septic stimulating evening!