1. Southeast Watershed Alliance
New Hampshire
Southeast Watershed Alliance

2. SWA Established in 2009 under RSA 485-E Established a public body corporate and politic having a distinct legal existence separate from the state and not constituting a department or agency of the state government to be known as the Southeast Watershed Alliance, also known as the Alliance. The public purpose of the Alliance is:    I. To engage in improved municipal, intermunicipal, and regional planning, studies, public education, and implementation measures, including potential investments, relative to water quality, water supply, wastewater and stormwater management, septic systems and septage, and land use, for the purpose of improving and protecting the water quality and natural hydrology of the state's coastal water resources and associated waters, and to more effectively address on a watershed basis the challenges of meeting state and federal regulations, including waste load limits and allocations. Such planning and investments may include, but are not limited to:        (a) Establishing intermunicipal stormwater utilities and any associated facilities.        (b) Establishing intermunicipal or regional wastewater districts and facilities.        (c) Establishing and coordinating common municipal regulations for nutrient reduction and water quality protection, such as stormwater, wetlands, and buffer regulations.        (d) Developing and implementing, in coordination with the department, innovative means to achieve compliance with nutrient and other pollutant reductions, such as a nutrients offset or trading program.        (e) Addressing water supply and water conservation measures.     II. To foster improved municipal and intermunicipal land use planning and regulation, in coordination with the applicable regional planning commissions, such as to encourage low impact development and innovative zoning and land use management approaches, and to advance the state's economic growth, resource protection, and planning policy.

3. 42 Communities 1 Watershed Sub-watersheds Covers 1,086 mi2 14% of NH and Maine population Great Bay and Hampton-Seabrook Estuaries

4. NH Coastal Watershed(s) Blue = Waters meet Clean Water Act Requirements Orange = Marginal Impairment Red = Severe Impairment

5. Major Causes of Water Quality Impairments
Dams/culverts
Stormwater Runoff
Industry
Agriculture
Water Quality
Problems
Sewage
Fertilizers
Causes are not the same as sources
Energy Production
Transportation

6. Nitrogen Sources VARIABLE – depends on location WWTFs, 484.64 tons/yr,
31%
Groundwater,
31.28 tons/yr, 2%
Atmospheric,
27.92 tons/yr,
Tributaries and Runoff,
tons/yr,
65%
(includes stormwater runoff and septic inputs)
Nitrogen Sources
VARIABLE – depends on location

7. Pollution Source: Stormwater Runoff
Effective and consistent stormwater management which includes:
Low impact development strategies
Minimize impervious surfaces
Protect natural stream/wetland buffers
Preserve wetlands and natural areas
Stormwater retrofit projects

8. Pollution Source: Transportation (oils, carbon, nitrogen, road salt)
Regional planning to encourage efficient transportation
Invest in mass transport
High efficiency/alternative vehicles
Stricter NOx tailpipe emissions requirements
Stormwater treatment

9. Pollution Source: Energy Production (burning fossil fuels)
Encourage transition to renewable energy
and stricter NOx emissions requirements

10. Pollution Source: Wastewater Treatment Plants
Treatment plant upgrades to remove nutrients
Nutrient trading or other strategies to maximize cost effectiveness
Couple nutrient removal with commodity production (e.g. algae)
Insert sewage treatment plant

11. Pollution Source: Agriculture
Sustainable on-site fertilizer application
Minimize inorganic N fertilizer use
Proven best management practices (e.g. sediment and erosion control)
Manure containment
Buffers along waterways
Organic farming
Show picture of dairy and horse farms

12. Pollution Source: Septic Systems (typically only remove ~25% of N)
Encourage or require maintenance (tank pump out)
Encourage or require best available technology for new or replacement systems (~50% N removal)
Larger setbacks from surface waters to let vegetated buffers take up N and bacteria

13. Pollution Source: Landscaping Fertilizer
Homeowner/business outreach to reduce/eliminate fertilizer use
Buffers and setbacks from surface waters
Encourage/require slow-release fertilizers
Minimize lawns, utilize low-N species
Rain gardens (runoff treatment)

14. Impervious Surfaces in the Piscataqua Region Watershed
1990
28,710 acres
4.3%
2000
42,618 acres
6.3%
2005
50,351 acres
7.5%
Data Source: UNH CSRC 14

15. Science Symposium
May 11, 2011
Ten scientists to define the solid science, gaps in information and needed additional research
Dialogue with the Alliance communities and other stakeholders

16. Lack of Federal and State Funding is critical to any solution
Poor return of tax revenues to NH
Clean water needs to be given increased national priority
Local constituent support can only be achieved with significant federal and state contributions
NH tradition of local (town) control – citizen involvement provides the motive force for change

17. Innovation Required
Innovative approaches require cooperative, collaborative and integrated actions of federal, state, local governments with industrial partners Bio-extraction-payback of initial investment, e.g. shellfish (oysters, mussels) Septage processing on trucks (Norway, Nova Scotia, Netherlands, et al)

18. Initial Priority Actions
Developed list of seven initial priorities during a facilitated brainstorming session. Three priority actions selected based on “low cost, impact oriented projects that demonstrate immediate results”
Landowner Outreach - Lawn care, septic maintenance, general water quality education
Consistent Stormwater Regulations - Modify/develop a model ordinance, encourage adoption by members
Hot Spots - Identify existing research, develop a central information database, host a symposium to present current science.

19. NH Governor John E. Lynch by Executive Order is establishing a commission to create a “20 Year Water Sustainability Plan for New Hampshire.”

20. Information and Contacts
Southeast Watershed Alliance P.O. Box Portsmouth, NH Walter G. Fries, Chairman