Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management
CORE Massachusetts DepartmentMetadata, citation and of similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by State Library of Massachusetts Electronic Repository Environmental Management Hydrologic Assessment of the Millers River Prepared By: In Cooperation with: Gomez and Sullivan Executive Office of Engineers & Environmental Affairs, Environmental Scientists Massachusetts Watershed 55 North Stark Highway Initiative, Millers River Weare, NH 03281 Basin Final Report, April 2003 Executive Summary ES1.0 Introduction In 1994, Massachusetts embarked on a new approach to environmental management- the Watershed Initiative. The Watershed Initiative is a broad partnership of state and federal agencies, conservation organizations, businesses, municipal officials and individuals. The Initiative is an innovative, results-oriented program that protects and restores natural resources and ecosystems on a watershed basis. Watershed Teams, such as the Millers River Watershed Team, were created with the goal of understanding watersheds and improving the overall health of the ecosystem. This study was prepared for and funded by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, on behalf of the Millers River Watershed Team, as part of the Massachusetts Watershed Initiative. The purpose of this project is to provide a comprehensive assessment of the current and potential impacts that human activities in the Millers River Basin have on flow-dependent natural resources. There are numerous human activities in the Millers River Basin that affect the timing, magnitude, frequency, and rate of change of natural flows in the Millers River and its tributaries including: • public and industrial water supply withdrawals, • wastewater and industrial discharges, • operation of dams such as peaking hydroelectric facilities, or seasonal storage reservoirs such as flood control facilities, and, • long-term land use changes.
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