Note: This information is provided for reference purposes only. Although the information provided here was accurate and current when first created, it is now outdated.

In Connecticut, EPA is one of several agencies involved in the "Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials" (NEMO) Project, which educates local land use officials about water resource protection and watershed management. Developed and led by the University of Connecticut's Cooperative Extension Service, the NEMO project uses colorful maps and images generated by geographic information system (GIS) mapping technology to help local decision makers understand the complex relationships between land use and water quality. NEMO places particular emphasis on the growth of impervious (impermeable or paved) surfaces as an indicator of potential water quality problems. In general, the greater the amount of impervious surface ( parking lots and rooftops) in a watershed, the poorer the water quality. Using a zoning-based "build-out" analysis to project future problem areas, the NEMO message is that water resources can be protected while allowing for compatible economic growth and urban development through a three-tiered strategy of natural resources-based planning, protective site design, and use of so-called best management practices that protect the environment, as shown in Fig. 13. NEMO relies heavily on land cover data obtained by EPA. In addition, EPA has supported two watershed projects conducted by NEMO and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in the lower Connecticut River valley. This area has been singled out by several agencies as having critically important high quality tidal marsh habitat. Municipalities and private land owners in the two watersheds are working with the NEMO/TNC team on a range of land use issues that include forest stewardship, stream buffers and other nonpoint source pollution controls.