City marking wetland buffers

The Conservation Commission and the Public Works Division recently teamed up to mark wetland buffers along rivers and streams in the city.

The effort was done in conjunction with a nearly $8,000 grant from the state Department of Environmental Services.

Kathryn Nelson, chairwoman of the commission, said 28 key locations for the posts were identified and division workers began installing them during the last month. The posts contain aluminum plaques that the commission designed to mark wetland buffers.

Nelson said the goal is to highlight the important role these buffers provide, including filtering pollution out of rainwater and allowing water to soak into the ground rather than flooding.

The concern is that dumping on the buffers impedes their ability to absorb water and increases the likelihood that streams overflow their banks in a rainstorm.

Also, the grant will pay to update a brochure that explains the benefits of buffers and how property owners can treat these areas responsibly. The brochures will be mailed out in the spring to those living adjacent to many of the streams in Nashua.