Draft Watershed Based Plan Online

The Final Draft of the Watershed Based Plan (WBP) for the Mianus River Watershed is posted online:  http://www.swrpa.org/Default.aspx?Regional=280.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the plan!

This marks the successful completion of Phase I. Phase II of the project will build on the Draft WBP to create a final plan for the watershed. Work is expected to begin on Phase II in the fall.

Please note if you are printing the plan, the "Full Document" pdf and the "Figures Only" pdf include both 8.5x11 and 11x 17 pages

Interactive Map - Mianus River Watershed

It might be useful to have AKRF load the stream restoration or stormwater management projects that have been proposed for consideration in the draft watershed management plan. A brief description of each could be provided in a map pin description with a link to the more comprehensive description in a Google Document accessible to the public or the "committeememberXX@gmail.com" emails. This might avoid a duplication of effort on the part of the reviewers. Reviewers might be able to add additional information about those projects as well.

I'm reluctant to add a map pin and write up for problems sites that I think AKRF/SWRPA is already aware of.

For one stop shopping, it might be useful to have a link to the draft watershed management plan documents on the homepage of the blog depending on the direction this takes.

Jack

Interactive Google Map

Stakeholders in the Mianus River Watershed have a new tool for sharing site-specific information: a newly created interactive Google map that can be annotated with text, points, and polygons to indicate existing and proposed project sites as well as known problem areas.



The map currently contains the watershed boundary and the proposed projects included in the most recent draft of the Plan. Please note that all projects listed are draft only, and still under review by the steering committee. To annotate these points or to add new features to the map, follow these simple steps:

• Use this link to edit the map
• Sign in at the top right of the page using the generic Gmail address provided by SWRPA (if you are already signed into Google using a personal Gmail account, you will need to log out first)
• The map will reload automatically, this time with an “edit” button on the left near the map title
• Three symbols will appear near the main map navigation: a hand (pan), and point (draw point) and a line (draw polygon)—use these symbols to draw new features and to move features you’ve already drawn
• Click on any feature to add a title to a new feature, or to add comments/description to one of the features proposed in the current draft of the Plan

Welcome!

Welcome to the Mianus River Watershed Planning blog, an online forum for community members, stakeholder groups, and watershed professionals to discuss existing conditions and future ideas for the Mianus River Watershed. This forum supports efforts of the Southwest Regional Planning Authority (SWRPA) to develop a watershed-based management plan to meet Section 319 funding requirements under the federal Clean Water Act.

To this end, a steering committee of local scientists, planners, and community members was convened in July of 2010. The committee defined the watershed’s most important uses and values and suggested management strategies to be incorporated into the Plan. As the Plan is developed further, the steering committee will continue to review its content and provide feedback.This blog offers an easy method of communication among SWRPA, the steering committee, and the consultants developing the plan. You can ask general questions of the group; post links to useful information; suggest projects through the map feature; recommend funding sources; and share your specialized knowledge about this unique watershed. Each member of the group may access the blog and post new content using a generic account that has previously been distributed.The process for posting content is as follows:

• At the upper right corner of this page, click “sign in” using the generic Gmail address provided to you
• Click “new post” in the upper right corner of the page
• Enter text in the space provided, then click “publish post” to publish your content to the main blog (note: once posted, text cannot be deleted)
• Other members of the blog community can comment on your post via the “post comment” feature displayed below each blog entry.

This project is funded in part through the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) through a Clean Water Act Section 604(b) planning grant.