2010 Ware River Watershed Access Plan
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Public Access Management Plan Update – 2010 Ware River Watershed December 2009 Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Division of Water Supply Protection Office of Watershed Management Abstract The Public Access Management Plan Update 2010 - Ware River Watershed explains DCR- Watershed’s obligation to manage public access on its drinking water supply lands, the process used in developing the management plan, and its policies. The update process included an intensive public input component which collected survey data from 274 stakeholders from a period of May 2009-September 2009. This management plan contains six sections 1) an introduction to DCR-Watershed, with a revised Master Policy statement ; 2) a brief history of the Ware River Watershed and existing conditions; 3) the methodology used in the update and development of the policies in the plan; 4) Fact Sheets, with maps where appropriate, for 29 individual public access policies; 5) the description of related operational activities; and 6) an Implementation Schedule, including a new annual policy review process. The revisions and updates made to the 2010 plan have clarified existing policies. Eight policies were modified and one policy was added. DCR will begin implementation of the Public Access Management Plan Update starting January 2010. DCR will conduct an annual report to evaluate the Plan in general, as well as any policy concerns or conflicts that arose during the year beginning with its first report in 2011. DCR-Watershed intends to conduct another Plan update by 2020, or earlier, if needed. Citation Public Access Management Plan Update 2010 - Ware River Watershed. Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Water Supply Protection, Belchertown, MA. 178 pp. Acknowledgements This plan was prepared by the staff of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of Water Supply Protection, Office of Watershed Management – Quabbin Section. Principal authors are: William E. Pula, Regional Director, Quabbin/Ware Section and the Working Group listed below. MWRA contributions and review by John Gregoire. All maps were produced by DCR/DWSP Office of Watershed Management GIS staff Phil Lamothe using DWSP and MassGIS data. This plan was also reviewed by members of the Ware River Watershed Advisory Committee. Website and editing support by Joel Zimmerman. Public surveys conducted by Kimberly Russell. Quabbin/Ware Section Working Group: Dave Zaganiacz, Peter Baldracchi, Clif Read, Bob Bishop, Rebecca Budaj, Herm Eck, Dave Small, Paul Lyons, and Lisa Gustavsen Commonwealth of Massachusetts Deval L. Patrick, Governor Timothy P. Murray, Lt. Governor Ian A. Bowles, Secretary, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Richard K. Sullivan, Jr. Commissioner, Department of Conservation and Recreation Jonathan L. Yeo, Director, Division of Water Supply Protection FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION Public Information Interpretive Services and Quabbin Visitor Center Visitor information regarding the Quabbin Reservoir or Ware River watersheds is available from the Interpretive Services staff at the Quabbin Visitor Center, seven days a week from 9:00 am - 4: 00 pm. The Quabbin Visitor Center is in the DCR Administration Building, off Route 9 in Belchertown, Massachusetts. Additional copies of this plan are available by request from the Quabbin Visitor Center. For more information, contact the Quabbin Visitor Center at (413) 323-7221. Watershed Rangers DCR Watershed Rangers conduct off-site community education coupled with patrols and surveillance of DCR lands and waters to minimize threats created by public access on water supply watershed lands and waters. For more information, contact the Watershed Rangers at (413) 323-0191 or (617) 828-2452 (mobile). Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA): Additional information related to the Water Supply System can be found on the MWRA’s website at www.mwra.com. Public Comments This Plan and related information can also be found on DCR’s website at www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/wareaccess09.htm. The Division welcomes written public input regarding its management decisions and policies. Please submit written comments to the address listed below. If you are interested in being placed on our mailing list for notification of annual meetings, please send us your contact information to the address listed below: Comments on Public Access Management Plan Update 2010 - Ware River Watershed DCR/Division of Water Supply Protection Quabbin Reservoir 485 Ware Road Belchertown, MA 01007 Telephone: (413) 323-6921 Facsimile: (413) 784-1751 Email: [email protected] Table of Contents 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................................ 1 REGULATORY OVERVIEW ....................................................................................................................................... 4 U.S. Safe Drinking Water Act and the 1989 Surface Water Treatment Rule ...................................................... 4 1996 Safe Drinking Water Act Amendments ....................................................................................................... 4 DCR 2008 Watershed Protection Plan Updates ................................................................................................. 5 Microbial Pathogens ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Invasive Species .................................................................................................................................................. 6 PUBLIC ACCESS MANAGEMENT PLAN BACKGROUND ............................................................................................. 6 MASTER POLICY...................................................................................................................................................... 9 NEED FOR A PLAN UPDATE ................................................................................................................................... 10 POLICY AND PLAN CHANGES ................................................................................................................................ 10 IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES IN THE 2010 PLAN ............................................................................................... 10 2. WARE RIVER WATERSHED - HISTORICAL BACKGROUND .............................................................. 13 OPERATION OF DIVERSION FACILITY .................................................................................................................... 15 GENERAL HISTORICAL TIMELINE .......................................................................................................................... 16 WATERSHED ASSESSMENT .................................................................................................................................... 17 Geology ............................................................................................................................................................. 17 Soils and Septic Systems ................................................................................................................................... 17 Water Quantity .................................................................................................................................................. 18 Water Quality Monitoring ................................................................................................................................. 18 Land Use and Land Cover ................................................................................................................................ 19 PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES PROGRAM .............................................................................................................. 21 3. PLAN UPDATE PROCESS .............................................................................................................................. 23 DCR WORKING GROUP ......................................................................................................................................... 23 WATERSHED RANGERS ......................................................................................................................................... 23 CURRENT PUBLIC ACCESS ISSUES ON DCR LANDS IN THE WARE RIVER WATERSHED ......................................... 24 IN-HOUSE RESEARCH ............................................................................................................................................ 24 WATER QUALITY MONITORING ............................................................................................................................ 26 MAP MAKING ........................................................................................................................................................ 26 LITERATURE REVIEW WITH ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY ..................................................................................... 26 WARE RIVER WATERSHED ADVISORY COMMITTEE (WRWAC) ........................................................................... 27 PUBLIC INPUT ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 Survey and Interview Projects .........................................................................................................................