Aquifer Protection Best Management Practices
Tri-town Aquifer Project: Belmont, Northfield, Tilton

Results:

BMP guidebook: download (PDF, 146 mb)


Project Overview:

A stratified drift aquifer, totaling approximately 11,108 acres, lies beneath the towns of Belmont, Northfield, and Tilton. The aquifer currently supplies drinking water to a portion of the towns' residents, and has the potential to provide additional sources of drinking water to meet future needs. The Lakes Region Planning Commission (LRPC) worked with the three towns to develop a proposal for a Source Water Protection Grant to provide planning assistance that would guide the towns in protecting the quality and quantity of this important drinking water resource. The project received funding from NHDES in the spring of 2002, and the project report, Protecting Shared Drinking Water Resources, was completed by December 2003. In conjunction with this report, an Implementation Strategies Workbook was developed based on priority recommendations identified by the three communities.

The three towns and LRPC continued their partnership by implementing one of these priority recommendations, and components of additional recommendations, through the development of the Best Management Practice (BMP) Guidebook. The BMP Guidebook is specifically designed to provide guidance to minimize and mitigate the impacts of certain land uses and practices in order to protect the aquifer.

Goals:

  • Provide Belmont, Northfield, and Tilton with a guidebook of best management practices targeted toward community officials, developers, business owners, other professionals, and homeowners to enable further protection of the stratified drift aquifer as a drinking water source for existing and potential future needs;
  • Facilitate the exchange of information and ideas across town boundaries; and
  • Explore opportunities for collaborative initiatives to protect shared water resources.
Funding:

Funding for this project was provided in part by a Source Water Protection Grant from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and by the Lakes Region Planning Commission.
Contact lrpc@lakesrpc.org with questions, comments, or feedback on the website.