Drought Conditions
Up-to-date information on drought condition in the region is available at: http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/
Membership
The committee is appointed by the Selectboard and is made up of 7 members representing the Board of Health, Planning Board, Conservation Commission or Open Space Committee, the Lake Wyola Advisory Committee, and 3 members from the community.
Committee Charge
The committee was established by the Selectboard in 2009 and given the following charge:
- The first charge of the Water Resources Committee (WRC) is to assess the Town's water resources, both with respect to quality and quantity.
- The second charge of the WRC is to research appropriate solutions to any risks to the Town's water resources, which may include policy, regulatory or structural approaches.
- The third charge of the WRC is to propose policy or regulatory changes or preparation of a capital improvement plan, including cost estimates.
Vision
The vision of the WRC is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the status and condition of Shutesbury's water resources and what actions are needed to protect them.
Recent Activity
- Developed a detailed map of Shutesbury's water resources
- Developed a conceptual model of Shutesbury's hydrologic cycle
- Collected and analyzed soils, precipitation and existing water quality data
- Participated in the evaluation of the Town's "O32" lot
- Identified possible issues of concern:
- road salt impacts on wells and aquatic ecology
- nitrate loading (from septic systems)
- adequacy of groundwater resources (impacts on future growth in town)
- gravel road maintenance (and impacts on surface waters)
- condition of Lake Wyola
- Cooperated with Mount Holyoke College studies
- Secured funding for, and established a series of groundwater monitoring wells in Shutesbury
Meetings
The WRC no longer meets regularly. Data continues to be collected at the groundwater monitoring wells.