Watershed Management

KLWA’s continues to develop and partner with Northeast Aquatics Research (NEAR) to develop our Watershed Management Plan. This work continues through a combination of community education, research and testing, and the promotion of “good housekeeping” practices by all who live in the watershed.

Our Watershed Stewards Committee continues to report weekly on lake and watershed conditions, part of our ongoing effort to monitor the environmental conditions and quality. This information informs our management efforts, helping us to modify or even change plans, if necessary.

The Kirk Lake Watershed

What's a watershed? Glad you asked! A watershed is the land area that drains into a body of water, such as a river or lake. So that means that all of the precipitation landing in a watershed flows into that waterbody (such as Kirk Lake). That's important because it also brings with it much of the debris, chemicals, and nutrients from the entire land area that make up our watershed into the lake.

As you can see on the map above, the land area that drains into Kirk Lake is quite large when compared to the lake itself. Remember that nearly everything on the ground within that blue perimeter will eventually wash into Kirk Lake. That's why we need to maintain our septics, keep our leaves out of the storm drains, pick up after our dogs, and use phosphorus-free lawn fertilizers. It all pollutes the lake...

Click the Sat(tellite) button on the map and find your home! Or click the or Ter(rain) and "see" the hills by examining the contour lines. Want to zoom in? Click the plus or minus sign. Want a bigger picture? Click the "View Larger Map" button below the map.