NEIWPCC’s Water Resource Protection Division promotes coordination and collaboration between the member states’ water resource agencies and other stakeholders including federal agencies, academic institutions, and industry.
Nonpoint source (NPS) pollution is now the primary cause of water quality problems in the country. NEIWPCC facilitates communication between NPS experts through our Nonpoint Source Workgroup Meetings, and by coordinating Annual Nonpoint Source Conferences, both nationally and regionally. These opportunities bring program managers from New England and New York together to share information and continue progress on controlling NPS pollution.
Source Water Protection (SWP) is the key to safe drinking water. NEIWPCC’s Source Water Protection Workgroup, made up of state and federal staff, works to prevent contamination of our region’s sources of drinking water. This allows for a stronger and more productive working relationship between the states in our region as well as between the states and EPA, resulting in a greater likelihood of progress on the challenging issues in this arena. In coordination with the SWP Workgroup, NEIWPCC produced a Source Water Protection Toolkit to assist municipal officials in protecting local drinking water.
The Water Resource Protection staff also coordinates research activities across NEIWPCC’s programs to advance our understanding and promote innovative solutions in the region. NEIWPCC’s goal is to advance and disseminate relevant water resources research in the Northeast. NEIWPCC remains committed to working with a Steering Committee of environmental research professionals to identify funding and partnership opportunities to move high-priority research needs forward, as well as ensure the distribution of reliable, unbiased findings.
The Water Resource Protection Division oversees the partnership with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, through which NEIWPCC provides staff and funding to programs that work to protect, conserve, restore, and enhance the Hudson River and its estuary.
The Water Resource Protection Division also oversees the partnership with the Lake Champlain Basin Program (LCBP) which works with stakeholders from Vermont, New York, and Quebec to restore and protect Lake Champlain, its cultural resources, and its surrounding watershed. As financial administrator and program advisor to the LCBP we work cooperatively with many partners to coordinate and fund efforts that benefit the basin’s water quality, fisheries, wetlands, wildlife, recreation, and cultural resources.
For more information contact Sarita Croce, NEIWPCC’s Director of Water Resource Protection at scroce@neiwpcc.org.