Watershed Assistance Grant Will Help Protect Messer Pond

New London, N.H. – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) is pleased to announce that the Messer Pond Protective Association (MPPA) has been awarded a grant in the amount of $36,750 to implement stormwater improvements and best management practices that will help improve the water quality of Messer Pond.

Following a competitive application process, the Messer Pond Protective Association (MPPA) was one of five successful applicants that will be receiving funding this year to protect and restore New Hampshire's lakes and ponds. The Association will work with the New London Public Works Department (DPW) to mitigate erosion in areas that are resulting in sediments and excessive nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, entering the Pond.

The MPPA began planning for this effort in 2013 and is now on a third round of grants to address stormwater management issues impacting Messer Pond and its watershed. The previous grants funded best management practices (BMPs) to stop erosion (which carries phosphorus to the lake) on County Road.

This project continues the second phase of implementation of the recommendations from the MPPA Watershed-based Implementation Plan, that was funded in part with grants from NHDES and from the State Conservation Committee (SCC). As noted in the plan, the key pollution sources around the lake is erosion control on dirt roads and loss of buffers around tributary streams. This grant will fund improvement actions on both the road and buffers.

"As a small non-profit, the MPPA would not be able to undertake and be successful at a long, complicated effort like this without great partners." Said John Doyle, president of the MPPA. "We would like to thank the NHDES and the SCC for their continued guidance on acquiring these grants to help fund our efforts and the Town of New London - especially the DPW – for the ongoing support implementing these recommendations to improve the health of Messer Pond and its watershed."

Each year, the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides NHDES with Clean Water Act Section 319 funds to both restore and protect New Hampshire's water resources that are impacted by polluted runoff. Pre-proposals for projects to begin in 2021 are currently being accepted by NHDES. For further information regarding this project or the efforts of the MPPA contact John Doyle at johndoyle@messerpond.org. For information on future Watershed Assistance and Restoration Grant opportunities contact Katie Zink at katherine.zink@des.nh.gov