|
Long
Island Sound Watershed Program
|
|
Westchester
County's economic, recreational and environmental well-being is directly tied to
the health of Long Island Sound, which is designated an Estuary
of National Significance. The County of Westchester also has designated the
shore of this estuary a Critical Environmental Area.
In
order to protect this resource, County agencies, working with municipalities,
have been actively involved in programs to improve water quality and fish and
wildlife habitat in the Sound's watershed (or drainage basin) in Westchester.
Nonpoint source pollution (or polluted stormwater) control is at the heart of
these improvement efforts.
|
|
|
|Watershed
Planning|
|Aquatic Restoration| |Related
Publications| [WAC4
Controlling Polluted Stormwater Report]
|
|
Nonpoint
source pollution is polluted stormwater runoff containing sediment, fertilizers
and pesticides, petroleum, heavy metals, and wastewater from failing septic
systems. These pollutants are often
carried by runoff to streams, rivers, and Long Island
Sound. They are a serious problem that can
only be kept under control by changes in the way we use the land and how we
maintain our homes and automobiles.
|
|
|
Watershed Advisory Committees
|
|
The
County's nonpoint source pollution
control program, initiated in 1991 to
dovetail with
the federal and bi-state
Long Island Sound Study, has focused
its efforts on intermunicipal watershed
planning, natural resources restoration and public outreach and
education since 1995.
The
intermunicipal planning aspect of the program strives to coordinate and guide
the activities of 19 cities, town and villages in Westchester’s Long Island
Sound watershed, which extends from Lewisboro south to Mount Vernon.
To ease this effort, the watershed was separated into seven study areas
made up of one to three subwatersheds. A
Watershed Advisory Committee (WAC) is assigned to each of the six areas.
The WACs are comprised of residents and municipal staff charged with
crafting a watershed management plan for their respective study areas.
They receive administrative and technical help from County Planning
Department staff. Three of the WACs
(WACs 3, 4 & 5) have completed their plans; a fourth (WAC 7) plan is being drafted.
|Back to Top|
| Subwatershed |
Municipalities |
| WAC
1: Silvermine, Mill &
Mianus Rivers |
Bedford, Lewisboro,
North Castle, Pound Ridge |
| WAC
2: Byram River |
Bedford, New Castle,
North Castle, Port Chester |
| WAC
3: Blind, Beaver Swamp
& Brentwood Brooks & Milton & Port Chester Harbors |
Harrison, Mamaroneck
Village, Port Chester, Rye Brook, Rye City |
| WAC
4: Mamaroneck &
Sheldrake Rivers & Mam'k Harbor |
Harrison, Mamaroneck
Town & Village, New Rochelle, Scarsdale, White Plains |
| WAC
5: Pine & Stephenson
Brooks & Larchmont Harbor |
Larchmont, Mamaroneck
Town & Village, New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor |
| WAC
6: Hutchinson River |
Eastchester, Mt. Vernon,
New Rochelle, Pelham, Pelham Manor, Scarsdale |
| WAC
7: Bronx River |
Ardsley,
Bronxville, Eastchester, Elmsford, Greenburgh, Harrison, Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Vernon,
New Castle, North Castle, Scarsdale, Tuckahoe, White Plains, Yonkers |
|
Watershed Planning
The
WAC plans assessed and made recommendations for improving the following:
With
specific regard to streams, wetlands and stormwater management, the WACs identified potential
restoration sites and made recommendations for restoring them. See Aquatic
Restoration.
|Back to Top|
|
|
Related Publications
Bronx River
Watershed Management Plan
WAC3
Controlling Polluted Stormwater Report
WAC4
Controlling Polluted Stormwater Report
WAC5
Controlling Polluted Stormwater Report
NPS Pollution Education Posters (view online)
NPS Pollution Fact Sheets (view online)
Environmental Information Bulletin: Winter Highway Maintenance and Practices
Sound Advice - A Resident's Guide to Reducing Water Pollution at Home
Sound Bites
|Back to Top|
|
|
For further information, contact:
Robert Doscher, Principal Environmental Planner
Westchester County Department of Planning
148 Martine Avenue, Room 432
White Plains, NY 10601
(914) 995-4423 FAX (914) 995-3780
rrd1@westchestergov.com
|
|Back to Top| |Planning
Dept. Home Page| |Westchester
Home Page|
|
|