Winnicut River Watershed Restoration and Management Plan

#PlantoLoveWinnicut

Groundbreaking for rain garden on 8.1.23 at the Greenland Central School, 70 Post Road, Greenland. Please click here for the event handout.

Winnicut Watershed Management and Restoration Plan

Download Winnicut River Watershed Restoration and Management Plan August 2017 (, 13 MB)

Winnicut Watershed Management and Restoration Plan
Implementation Phase I: request for qualifications

Greenland Central School multidisciplinary implementation(, 13 MB)

To subscribe to the notification listserve, please send an email with your contact information to Winnicut@NHRivers.org.

Resources

New maps are now available as PDFs:
Base map (, 4 MB)
Aerial map (, 4 MB)
Impervious surface map (, 4 MB)

The Watershed

The Winnicut River originates in the marshes and low-lying hills of the coastal plain of New Hampshire, flowing north into the Great Bay estuary. Although relatively small it is a significant tributary to the Great Bay. The watershed has a drainage basin of approximately 17.5 square miles and includes portions of North Hampton, Stratham, and Greenland. The river, its perennial tributaries (Barton Brook, Norton Brook, Marsh Brook, Winniconic Brook, Thompson Brook, Haines Brook, and Packer Brook), and numerous streams account for a total of 46.5 stream miles in the watershed.

Winnicut River watershed

The Challenge

The river and several of its tributaries are experiencing the negative impacts of nonpoint source pollution (NPS) due to the rapid development that has occurred within the watershed over the past 20 years. The river and several of its tributaries are currently listed on NH Department of Environmental Service’s 2008 Section 305(b) and 303(d) Surface Water Quality Report as impaired for multiple designated uses, including Aquatic Life, Primary Contact Recreation, and Secondary Contact Recreation.

The Solution

There is community support to restore and protect this valuable water resource. The New Hampshire Rivers Council created the Winnicut River Watershed Coalition to implement projects on the Winnicut River and to act as the local voice and steward. Projects include a volunteer water quality monitoring program to make current and accurate water quality data available and the restoration and management plan. When the plan is completed and approved, the Council may apply for funds to address water quality impairements in the watershed.

Get Involved!

Become a member. Click here to go to the donate page. To subscribe to the notification listserve, please send an email with your contact information to Winnicut@NHRivers.org.

Learn More

Learn more about the watershed.

  1. New Winnicut watershed map Click here. (, 376 KB)
  2. Click here to view the Winnicut’s Volunteer River Assessment Program data since 2011 (, NHDES site)
  3. A brief history, courtesy of Weeks Brick House and Gardens. Click here. (, 2.3 MB)
  4. Winnicut Watershed Fact Sheet. Click here. (, 116 KB)
  5. Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Suspended Solids Concentrations in Tributaries to the Great Bay Estuary Watershed in 2008 (Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership Report.) Click here. (, 388 KB)
  6. EPA Surface Water Quality Status Map, Greenland, NH. Click here. (, 620 KB)
  7. Assessment of Road Crossings for Improving Migratory Fish Passage in the Winnicut River Watershed (The Nature Conservancy 2009 Report). Click here. (, 2.2 MB)

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Sign up to receive up-to-date information on activities and events. Click here. (, NHRC site)