Water Resources Management Plan, Saratoga National Historical Park

Vana-Miller, David; Martin, Chris; White, Linda

This Plan has been developed cooperatively by the NPS’s Water Resources Division and Saratoga National Historical Park to assist park management in the understanding and management of these resources. It provides an overview of existing resource condition, identifies water-related management issues, and develops alternatives that addresses resource issues and management in the park. This Water Resources Management Plan has been developed cooperatively by theNational Park Service’s Water Resources Division and Saratoga National Historical Parkto assist park management in the understanding and management of these resources. It summarizes existing water resource information and identifies and discusses several water resources-related issues and management concerns pertinent to Saratoga National Historical Park. It is designed to serve as a management implementation plan to guide park water-related activities over the next 10 years. This water resources management plan is complementary to, and consistent with, other existing park management documents, including the Statement for Management (Saratoga National Historical Park 1992), General Management Plan (Saratoga National Historical Park in prep.) and the Resources Management Plan (Saratoga National Historical Park 1992). Additionally, the summary of water-related information and issuesand the proposed management actions that address these issues can be incorporated into the park’s Resource Management Plan.Water-related resource issues discussed within this plan include:• Development of a cost-effective water quality monitoring program;• Water quality concerns at the Price Farm and Schuylerville dump sites;• Abandoned water wells in the park;• Beaver re-colonization of Mill Creek and other watersheds;• Flooding of Route 4 by Old Champlain Canal;• Adequacy of current potable water supply system; and• Potential risk of zebra mussel colonization.The Water Resource Management Plan further presents a number of management recommendations and provides one water-related project statement (Appendix A) that isrecommended to address foreseeable water-related issues over the next decade. Projectstatements are standard National Park Service programming documents that describe aproblem or issue, discuss actions to deal with it, and identify the additional staff and/orfunds needed to carry out the proposed action. They are planning tools as well asprogramming documents used to compete with other projects and park units for funds andstaff.