Public Meetings - Come learn, listen, participate and help us!

April 2008

Workshops

A public workshop entitled "Water and the Future of Your Community" was held on April 30, 2008 at the Southeastern Regional High School in Easton. Thank you to all who attended and participated. This workshop provided an overview of the study, and presented preliminary results of the water budget, habitat and stream buffer analyses, with particular attention focused on the Coweeset Brook watershed located in Easton, West Bridgewater and Brockton. A copy of the agenda and slideshows is available below for download.

We anticipate participating in another public meeting to present further results of the study in June (exact date and location to be determined). Please check back for more information.

Slideshows:

• Agenda
• Introductory Slideshow
• Water Budget Analysis and Low Impact Development
• Ecological and Stream Buffer Analysis
• Village Center Districts and Trading of Development Rights

November, 2007

Interactive Public Meetings about the Taunton River Watershed Study

The Taunton River Watershed Study held four successful public meetings in November to engage the public and listen to the watershed issues that you, the residents, businesses and municipalities, think are most pressing in the Taunton watershed. Meetings were held on:

• November 5 (Bridgewater State College),
• November 8 (Southeastern Regional High School, S. Easton) and
• November 13 (two meetings, Bristol County Agricultural High School, Dighton).

Download meeting announcement here (202.8 KB).

Horsley Witten Group presented a Powerpoint presentation, which you can download here (4.8 MB), and provided several handouts to guide the discussion, also available for download (Priorty of Concerns Worksheet (56 KB), Management Plan Figure (687.1 KB), Watershed Map (2.4 MB), and Water Budget Approach 2.1 MB)). Participants were asked to join in small group discussions to identify the most important issues facing the watershed, ranging from wastewater to low flow issues in the Taunton River tributaries to education of the municipal boards and staff. The full list of issues identified by the groups in the four meetings is provided here (7.8 KB), along with a ranking that resulted from an individual voting process. The issues that rose to the top in these discussions were:

• The level of public education and training for municipal boards, commission and commissions;
• The level of general public education and outreach on environmental issues;
• The amount of habitat, wetlands, and open space being protected;
• The extent of inappropriate development; and
• Water quantity, flow and quality in the rivers, lakes and streams in the Taunton watershed.

The need for education of both the general public and municipal officials on these issues was the overwhelming priority concern at these meetings, and even if this was not identified by a discussion group as the top priority, it came up in discussions as a problem area, and a potential solution for other priority concerns.

Once the full list of issues was identified, attendees discussed potential solutions to address those issues. Solutions included:

Education:

• Mandatory training for local officials
• Outreach efforts using PSAs on radio and town websites
• Use a positive message
• Use good science as a basis for education and awareness
• Reach kids in high school and younger: science fairs, scouting troops
• Organize an umbrella educational organization, similar to DEP Wetlands Circuit Rider program, to reach all communities
• Get people out to experience the river, solicit corporate sponsors and adopt a wetland program

Extent of Inappropriate Development and Habitat Protection:

• Improve local regulations
• Improve local enforcement
• Improve education and training for officials

Water quality and flow in rivers, streams and lakes:

• Improve aquifer recharge using LID and Smart Growth techniques
• LID retrofits
• Find illicit connections in the stormwater system
• Limit "effective imperviousness" into the NPDES Phase II permits
• Improve Water Management Act permitting process
• Provide education and outreach about outdoor water use

We would like to thank everyone who participated in these meetings, and provided valuable insight and feedback for our study as we move forward. We will cover these key topics in more detail in our April 2008 public meetings (exact times and locations to be determined). We hope to see you there!

September 15, 2007

Taunton River Watershed Day

Photos by Michelle West

Taunton River Watershed Day was held at Watson Pond State Park in Taunton on September 15, 2007. We had a great group of people in attendance, and we managed to fit in some great informational walking tours and a nice barbecue lunch before the wind and rain took over. Three tours were offered:

• Local development and stormwater management tour, led by Rich Claytor, PE, Principal at Horsley Witten Group
• Hydrology and water quality tour, including a stint on the water in some rented kayaks, led by Neal Price, Senior Hydrogeologist at Horsley Witten Group, and
• Wetland and shoreline ecology tour, led by Alison Bowden, Freshwater Programs Director for The Nature Conservancy Massachusetts Chapter.

MassAudubon's Sarah Slack, Director of the Oak Knoll Sanctuary in Attleboro, offered a hands-on investigations table for children. They sampled water from the pond's edge and investigated the plants and critters that they found. A table-top watershed model was also a big hit.

Senator Pacheco (D - First Plymouth and Bristol Districts) gave lunch time remarks in support of the watershed study, and we offered a free barbecue lunch, using donations from local vendors.

Many thanks to:

You can download the Watershed Day announcement here (379.9 KB) and an agenda of the day's events here (48 KB).

June 13, 2007

June Public Meeting

Bridgewater State College hosted the first public meeting to introduce the project on Wednesday, June 13 at the Moakley Center .  The consultant team, led by Horsley Witten Group, presented an overview of the project, preliminary findings and a discussion of future possible scenarios to manage the Taunton River Watershed.  The topics of wetlands, water supply, wastewater, stormwater and smart growth were discussed.