Here is a sample of some of the activities that the Town of Westford is working on to protect our local resources:

1. Using classroom materials developed through our partnership with the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council, the Engineering Department and the Water Department just completed a week long Living Lab education program for all 5th grade students in Westford. The award winning Living Lab program introduces 5th grade students to the responsible stewardship of natural resources. Students were also given an outdoor demonstration of how storm drains function along the Reed Brook.
2. With help from the Water Department, we have installed colorful plastic markers provided by the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council at various storm drains along the Nashoba Brook corridor that read, "Don't Pollute, Drains to Waterways (PDF)." The markers are intended to increase public awareness of stormwater pollution and remind everyone that storm drains directly impact our valuable natural resources.
3. The 2013 Annual Town Meeting authorized the Engineering Department to prepare a Stormwater Management Master Plan that will provide the town with guidance on how to protect our natural resources and stay in compliance with the Clean Water Act.
4. The Engineering Department, working with the Highway Department and the Organization for the Assabet River (OAR), has installed roadside signs identifying the various brooks and streams in an effort to increase public awareness of the existence and importance of these surface waters.
5. The Town, working with Woodard and Curran, has completed Illicit Discharge Detection and Elimination (IDDE) employee training sessions for various Town employees to fulfill part of the Pollution Prevention/Good Housekeeping Minimum Control Measure of the Town's NPDES Stormwater Phase II permit. Specifically, this measure encourages towns to develop an Operation and Maintenance Plan to ensure that existing municipal operations are performed in ways that will minimize contamination of stormwater discharges and to "Include employee training on how to incorporate pollution prevention/good housekeeping techniques into municipal operations such as park and open space maintenance, fleet and building maintenance, new construction and land disturbances, and storm water system maintenance."
6. Distribution of over 700 Stormwater Tips Flyer (PDF) to businesses in Westford with guidelines to prevent stormwater pollution. This flyer was created by the SuAsCo Watershed Community Council, a non-profit alliance of businesses, municipalities, environmental organizations, and state/federal/regional government agencies working together to keep pollutants out of our stormwater.