The decisions the New Hampshire Senate makes about the budget approved earlier this month by the House of Representatives will determine the fate of two programs important to the preservation and protection of state lakes, including Lake Winona.

The Volunteer Lake Assessment Program and the Lakes Management and Protection Program are among five DES water quality monitoring and management programs that will end on June 30 if the House budget is adopted in its current form. Both programs are active on Lake Winona.

The Volunteer Lake Assessment Program, known as VLAP, is at the center of water quality monitoring on the lake. VLAP annually coordinates the collection and processing of water samples from the lake’s “deep spots” and maintains a database that tracks long-term changes in the lake’s water quality.

VLAP was created in 1985 as a cost-effective way to monitor water quality in the state’s 800 public lakes and ponds by tapping into a broad network of volunteers. On Lake Winona, the LWIA annually arranges for volunteers who help the VLAP coordinator collect water samples from the deepest part of the lake and around various inlets. A state biologist then processes the samples and reports on the findings.

VLAP and its companion Volunteer River Assessment Program (VRAP), also eliminated in the House budget, support 215 groups with more than 700 volunteers in the collection and processing of more than 20,000 water samples from 1,500 lakes, rivers and streams. State officials estimate that VLAP and VRAP volunteers have provided close to $1 million in in-kind services to the state since the programs began.

This is the second time that VLAP has faced being shut down. In 2004, then-commissioner of DES Michael Nolin eliminated the program in response to newly-elected Republican Governor Craig Benson’s demand for across the board cuts to state spending. After a public outcry, Nolin reversed his decision.

Also eliminated in the House budget is the Lakes Management and Protection Program (LMPP), created by the Legislature in 1990 to establish and oversee master management criteria for the state’s lakes. It is the only formal state mechanism for municipalities to collaborate on source water protection and hazard mitigation strategies.