Lake Smart Recognition Program Receives Connecticut Sea Grant Development Funding

   The Town of Coventry’s Low Impact Development work group and University of Connecticut senior, Kaitlyn Mendez, were recently awarded grant funding from the Connecticut Sea Grant Project Development Award to develop a LakeSmart Recognition Program for the Town of Coventry. The LakeSmart Recognition Program is a non-regulatory initiative started in Maine, to encourage homeowners to introduce lake-friendly initiatives to their property. Volunteer evaluators from the community will award lakefront homeowners who implement these low impact development techniques to their property with a sign of recognition. Following significant cyanobacteria blooms in 2022, the Coventry community is working to prevent future blooms by encouraging homeowners to reduce polluted runoff from entering Coventry Lake. Coventry Town Manager James Drumm emphasized the importance of protecting Coventry Lake, commenting that “The LakeSmart Recognition Program is needed to encourage the use of preventative practices to improve and protect the water quality of Coventry Lake so that our children and their grandchildren will enjoy the Lake as we do today.” The program has been in development since January 2026, as Mendez worked alongside members of the Coventry Low Impact Development work group, Lori Mathieu, Richard Pearson, and Darby Polansky as well as UConn and CT Sea Grant assistant extension educator, Owen Placido. Mendez began working alongside the Coventry Low Impact Development work group through the UConn Climate Corps program, established by CT Sea Grant and the UConn Center for Land Use Education and Research (CLEAR), in which undergraduate students are trained to work with Connecticut communities on semester-long projects that address local adaptation needs.

    The Coventry Low Impact Development work group, established in December 2024, aims to protect the water quality in Coventry Lake through educating Coventry town members on preventative measures in decreasing waste run off into the lake's watershed. The group also oversaw the development of a Low Impact Development design tool program and a GIS tracking program in January.

    The grant support will fund Mendez during the academic school year, as Coventry LakeSmart’s inaugural season is projected to begin in Spring, 2027. The LakeSmart program is being developed for Coventry Lake with the potential to serve as a model for other lake communities. With input from the expansive Advisory Board, featuring Maine LakeSmart experts, Connecticut Federation of Lakes board members, and extensive members of the Coventry community, the program is designed to be adaptable and could ultimately be adopted by communities throughout the region and potentially statewide. Homeowners have participated in focus groups throughout the spring and summer to create a program specific to the community in Coventry. LakeSmart programs have seen great success throughout Maine and New Hampshire lakes, and the Coventry LID work group team is excited to implement this program to address local water quality and resilience needs.