Bits and Pieces: A Weekly Update from the Strafford Region

Sunrise Lake in Middleton. (Photo Credit: Max Pass/@413valleyguy)

Planning

On Tuesday, Jan. 19 principal planner Kyle Pimental and environmental planner Alaina Rogers facilitated the Sunrise Lake Watershed-Based Plan kickoff meeting.

Sunrise Lake, located in Middleton, is identified in the NHDES 305(b) and 303(d) water quality reports for having water quality impairments including elevated concentrations of chlorophyll-a and phosphorus, and E. coli bacteria. In response, Strafford Regional Planning Commission (SRPC), in conjunction with Geosyntec, DK Water Resources Consulting, LLC, and the UNH Stormwater Center, are developing a comprehensive watershed management plan promoting cost effective implementation of best management practices. This project is funded under NHDES's 604(b) program.

Meeting attendees included SRPC, NHDES staff, representatives from Geosyntec, DK Water Resources Consulting, LLC, and the UNH Stormwater Center, the Middleton Conservation Commission, Hampshire Shores, the Sunrise Lake Lands Association, and town staff.

The meeting allowed stakeholders to learn about work completed to date including goals for improving the lake’s water quality. The project team gave a presentation on existing research and preliminary planning. Committee member discussed possible avenues to communicate with residents, possible areas of concern around the lake for runoff and contamination, and details of a septic system assessment.

For more information on the project contact Kyle Pimental.

Pieces of Interest

Learn about Southern NH Planning Commission's Pop-Up Planning Services

Upcoming NNECAPA Events for CM Credits

Transportation

On Friday, January 22, Strafford Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) staffers launched its ArcOnline Sea Level Rise Impacts map viewer which shows various scenarios of potential, projected sea level rise and its impact to transportation infrastructure and community infrastructure.

The sea level rise scenarios data was created by NH GRANIT in 2020 and can be found on the NH GRANIT webpage, while the impacts to community and transportation infrastructure data was created by a partnership of entities. Strafford MPO partnered with RPC, NHDES, NH GRANIT, and the UNH Stormwater Center as part of the C-Rise project in the Spring of 2017 to determine these impacts. More information on C-Rise can be found here.

This map, along with many others recently created primarily by GIS planner Jackson Rand, are in line with Strafford MPO’s effort to shift towards creating more interactive maps on its ArcOnline site.

Up next, Strafford MPO will be launching an online map viewer for the data collected during its partner project on Level of Traffic Stress with Rockingham Planning Commission.

Contact Jackson Rand for more information.

Pieces of Interest

Bike Walk Alliance NH Winter Pedestrian Safety Guides

Electric Vehicle Purchasing Information

Economic Development

As on outcome of Strafford Economic Development District’s (EDD) weekly Seacoast Economy calls, staff are looking at ways in which businesses have been resilient and adapted through the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an effort to share these ideas so that people in the region can learn from each other,

EDD staff are requesting employers and employees to share their success stories. These will then be compiled as a story map with the help of GIS planner Jackson Rand. Story Maps are an ArcOnline tool to combine maps with narrative text, images, and multimedia content to create compelling, user-friendly web apps. Strafford EDD’s story map will highlight local businesses and the adaptations that have worked for them.

Stories can be sent to economic recovery coordinator Natalie Moles. If you don’t have a story, but know someone that does, please let us know, or forward this update.

Pieces of Interest

Shaheen, Hassan detail ‘PPP 2’ to New Hampshire business owners

Strafford Regional Planning Commission | 603-994-3500 | srpc@strafford.org| www.strafford.org

Jan. 22, 2021