The Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed Association has completed a final draft of a flood resiliency management plan to help communities in the watershed become more resilient to the impacts of flooding, while also benefitting water quality, fish and wildlife, and habitat.

Two public meetings are planned for municipal staff and the public to learn about the plan and give feedback for the final plan.

The meetings will take place from 10 a.m. to noon on Friday at the third floor terrace room of the Westerly Library, 44 Broad St.; and from 6 to 8 p.m. June 28 at the Richmond Community/Senior Citizen Center, 1168 Main St., Wyoming, R.I.

The draft plan can be found at: http://wpwa.org/flood_resiliency.html.

In a news release, the association said the main objectives of the plan are:

• to assess the vulnerability of the Wood-Pawcatuck River watershed to flooding and storm-related damages

• to develop a comprehensive, watershed-based management plan to help communities become more resilient to the impacts of flooding (such as by enhancing flood resilience)

• to focus on strengthening natural ecosystems that also benefit water quality, fish and wildlife, and habitat.

The management plan builds upon and integrates information from previous and ongoing work within the watershed, the association said. It identifies watershed-wide and site-specific project recommendations throughout the watershed. It includes potential management alternatives such as land use policies and regulations, active and passive restoration (such as bridge and culvert retrofits or replacement, stream buffer restoration, stream bank stabilization, river restoration and corridor easements), green stormwater infrastructure, wetland and habitat restoration, and related water quality mitigation. Many of these recommendations are town specific, and can be used by planners and officials to apply for funding for projects, the association said.

For information about the plan or the community meetings, contact Denise Poyer at: denisep@wpwa.org or at: (401) 539-9017.