Big Island Pond Watershed Management Plan
Big Island Pond is a 530-acre waterbody located in Atkinson, Derry, and Hampstead, New Hampshire. The pond is currently on the 303(d) List of Impaired Waters for New Hampshire for failing to support the designated uses of Aquatic Life Integrity and Primary Contact Recreation (swimming) due to elevated levels of chlorophyll-a, total phosphorus, and concentrations of cyanobacteria hepatotoxic microcystins.
Big Island Pond offers a wide variety of recreational opportunities such as swimming, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, motor boating and water skiing. Public conservation lands around Big Island Pond also offer hiking and nature trails, biking, bird watching and picnicking.
The Big Island Pond Corporation (BIPC) is primarily made up of adjacent property owners with an interest in maintaining water quality for Big Island Pond. BIPC tests the waters of Big Island Pond periodically during the year. As a member of the New Hampshire Volunteer Lake Assessment Program (VLAP), BIPC volunteers monitor the pond and NHDES provides limnological sampling equipment and processing of the samples. NHDES Biologists that administer VLAP particularly look for chlorophyll-a (a measure of algal abundance), total phosphorus (the primary nutrient for aquatic plant growth in freshwater), E. coli bacteria (a measure of fishable and swimmable water), conductivity (an indicator of erosion/road salt runoff/septic system failure, etc.) and water clarity. BIPC also monitors and regulates the water level of Big Island Pond. This is conducted at the dam located at the end of Escumbuit Road in Derry, at the outlet to the Spicket River.
This project will generate a watershed-based management plan for Big Island Pond that addresses EPA’s nine key elements for watershed-based plans, including reviewing the ongoing data collection efforts of the BIPC through their participation in VLAP, setting a water quality goal for total phosphorus for Big Island Pond, identifying and prioritizing site-specific measures to reduce sediment and nutrient loading, recommending specific landscape management best practices, providing stormwater management through nonstructural practices, and predicting nutrient reductions achieved through the future implementation of stormwater improvement projects.
The Town of Derry, on behalf of BIPC and the towns of Hampstead and Atkinson, applied for and was awarded an ARPA Cleanwater Grant for development of the Big Island Pond Watershed-based Management Plan (WMP). The Town of Derry is the fiscal agent and awarded the contract to Comprehensive Environmental Inc. (CEI) to provide support, leadership, and guidance in developing the WMP for Big Island Pond. Project objectives are as follows:
1. Perform data review and assimilative capacity development for Big Island Pond by gathering and evaluating all available water quality data;
2. Establish water quality goals for Big Island Pond by working with project partners;
3. Confirm total phosphorus loading sources, including internal load for Big Island Pond using the Lake Loading Response Model (LLRM) to determine existing and potential, future conditions for Big Island Pond relative to eutrophication;
4. Estimate pollutant load reductions and actions needed in order to achieve water quality goals under various modeling scenarios;
5. Develop an Action Plan that outlines responsible parties, potential funding sources, approximate costs, and a schedule aimed at improving water quality;
6. Publish the Big Island Pond Watershed Plan; and
7. Develop preliminary designs (up to 30% design) for top priority Stormwater Control Measures (SCMs) to reduce pollutant loads.
Additional information including slide presentations and completed draft and final documents can be found at the following links:
