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Executive Summary of the Quassaick Creek Watershed Plan

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Executive Summary of the Quassaick Creek Watershed Plan Acknowledgements The Advisory Committee The Quassaick Creek Watershed Management Plan was a project of the included representatives of: Orange County Planning Department and was overseen by Commissioner Dave Church, managed by Senior Planner Kelly Dobbins, and supported City of Newburgh by Planner Chad Wade. Additional staff support included assistance from HDR, Inc. Department interns Lauren Burns, Marshall Tidwell and Samantha Ennis. Hudson River Watershed Alliance Funding support for this project was provided in part by both the New NYSDEC’s Hudson River York State Department of State, using funds provided under Title 11 of the Estuary Program Environmental Protection Fund, and the Orange County Water Authority. These resources enabled HDR, Inc. and Watershed Assessment Associates, NYS Department of State LLC to provide significant technical assistance to the project. Orange County Department of Health It is important to stress that creation of the Plan would not have been possible without generous in-kind support provided by Advisory Committee Orange County Land Trust members (list at right), municipal staff, elected officials, and other key Orange County partners. Continued collaboration among a variety of existing and new Municipal Planning Federation partners is vital to the implementation of this Plan. Orange County If you would like to get involved or have questions about the Plan, contact: Planning Department • Kelly Dobbins, Senior Planner Orange County Soil & Orange County Planning Department Water Conservation District 124 Main St. Goshen, NY 10924 Orange Lake Civic Association Office: 845-615-3840 [email protected] OR Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance • John Gebhards, Chairman Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance Town of Newburgh 48 Wintergreen Ave. Newburgh, NY 12550 Town of Plattekill Home: 845-562-6249 [email protected] Ulster County Technical support for the Watershed Plan was provided by: Planning Department Winona Lake Homeowners Association Please scan QR code below for additional documents and information pertaining to the Quassaick Creek Watershed Plan. Wood Turtle ES-i | Page Executive Summary Preface The Quassaick Creek Watershed Plan is a non-regulatory guidance document that recommends strategies for enhancing the Watershed, with a focus on water quality protection. It is meant to be a tool to be used to further enrich the quality of life within the Watershed through thoughtful planning, outreach, education, and science- based enhancement and restoration projects. The primary purposes of this Plan are to heighten public awareness of the Quassaick Creek - thus creating a sense of united stewardship among watershed stakeholders – and to create a “checklist” of best management practices for guiding future development and growth in order to protect and improve the health of the Watershed. The Plan can help municipalities and others acquire current and reliable environmental information and provides an overview of issues and needs that can be used in support of the acquisition of grants or other funds. While some of the recommendations in the Plan advocate for enhanced regulations at the local level, they are not intended to add unnecessary burdens to communities - the Plan strives to propose helpful solutions for dealing with critical issues in support of municipal decision-making. The Plan focuses on environmental conditions while also recognizing the need for economic development and social equity. The environment, economy, and social equity need not be in conflict with each other, but should be seen as codependent – all are necessary for a vibrant, healthy and resilient watershed. View from Snake Hill of Hudson River and Quassaick Creek Corridor - Photo by Simon Gruber ES-I | Page Executive Summary Meeting of Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance - Photo by Simon Gruber Crafting the Plan Development of the Quassaick Creek Watershed the public, and other stakeholders about watershed Management Plan began in the spring of 2012 when functions and the value of the resources that the an Advisory Committee (see list in Acknowledgments) Watershed supports. Municipal engagement was first convened under the leadership of the Orange invited and encouraged throughout the process; County Planning Department. In addition to meeting committee members gave presentations to municipal regularly, Committee members made a concerted effort boards about the Watershed and the planning to get outside and explore the Watershed first-hand. process. A webpage was kept up-to-date with new Members took an organized tour of the Watershed, information as the project progressed. Press releases conducted a stream walk of the Lower Quassaick Creek, informed a broader audience of the importance of inventoried all of the Watershed’s stormwater ponds, the Quassaick Creek and relayed information about and performed stream water quality monitoring. The opportunities for participation. Regular stream clean- Committee also performed critical research, such as the ups, tree-plantings, and other public events review of municipal codes and plans, and guided the organized by the Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance direction of the Plan. has kept the Quassaick Creek in the public eye throughout the planning process. The outreach process involved in the Plan’s creation enabled information-sharing with decision-makers, ES-II | Page Executive Summary A Glance at the Watershed Humans have used the Quassaick Creek in a variety of ways since it was formed over centuries from water- induced erosion following the last glaciation. It provided water and sustenance to Native Americans who fished and lived alongside it. Its course was dammed to create lakes and ponds that would be used for drinking water, recreation, to support ice plants, and to power mills. Its waters were used to carry sewage and industrial chemicals downstream. The Creek’s two primary tributaries, the Bushfield Creek and the Gidneytown Creeks, have also supported the local economy and Above: The twin-arch bridge spans the Lower Quassaick were similarly utilized for their resources, harnessed for Creek, connecting the Town of New Windsor with the City hydropower, and employed for waste removal. of Newburgh. Artwork by Linda Thomas of EarthRise. Commissioned by the City of Newburgh. The valley of the lower Quassaick Creek, along the southern border of the City of Newburgh, inspired and three reservoirs that together can provide nearly 10 Hudson River painters to call it the Vale of Avoca because million gallons of drinking water per day1. Efforts are of its natural beauty (image at right). This portion of the underway to develop the lower Quassaick Creek valley Watershed, which was one of the first areas to be settled into an estuary preserve and interpretive historic trail. in Orange County, was later developed into a major Lands are actively being acquired and protected within manufacturing center during the Industrial Revolution. Chadwick Lake reservoir to safeguard water quality. Though still harboring its historic charm, former Especially noteworthy is that a coalition of concerned industrial areas along the lower Creek have largely residents, agency representatives, and others have overgrown and the corridor is in need of restoration. come together to protect and improve the Creek; since 1 Silver Stream Reservoir (i.e. Browns Pond) is an Today, the Quassaick Creek Watershed boasts popular emergency backup reservoir and is therefore not included in recreational assets, important biological communities, the 10mgd total. Chadwick Lake ES-III | Page Executive Summary Quassaick Creek/Bushfield Creek Confluence 2008, the Quassaick Creek Watershed Alliance has “ground-truthed” previously misunderstood segments of the drinking water watersheds and stream corridors, documented and distributed their findings, rallied a diversity of stakeholders, and helped to secure partnerships and funding to benefit the Watershed. Despite these assets, the Quassaick Creek is on New York State’s Priority Waterbodies List as having water quality impairments. Orange Lake, which drains into the Bushfield Creek tributary of the Quassaick Creek, is on the State’s 303(d) list of Impaired Waterbodies due to excess phosphorous. The water quality of many stream sections throughout the Watershed is moderately or slightly impacted, as documented by routine stream biomonitoring work underway since 1987. Water quality is a concern within the Watershed, especially for drinking water supplies such as Washington Lake. As development continues throughout the Watershed, increased attention must be given to land management and development techniques that are sustainable. Future develop must respect and protect the integrity of our waterways if we intend to continue relying on the quality of our local natural resources – the most vital of which is clean drinking water. ES-IV | Page Executive Summary 3D depiction of topography of Quassaick Creek Watershed, outlined in yellow. Significance of the Plan aging infrastructure as land development continues and severe weather events become more frequent and This Watershed Plan is a guide for improving the more intense. health of the entire Watershed: the Quassaick Creek and its tributary streams; lakes, reservoirs The Plan is organized around these elements and and wetlands that feed into the Creek; and the 56 audiences: square mile landscape it flows through. The Plan inventories and maps the Watershed’s natural assets • The Watershed Assessment (Chapter 2) is and
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