Watershed Planning: Current Status and Next Steps Black Creek & Oatka Creek Watershed Symposium October 28, 2010.

Watershed

Planning: Current Status

and Next Steps

Black Creek & Oatka Creek

Watershed SymposiumOctober 28, 2010

A brief word from our sponsors…

““This project is being developed for the New This project is being developed for the New York State Department of State Division of York State Department of State Division of

Coastal Resources with funds provided under Coastal Resources with funds provided under Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Act Title 11 of the Environmental Protection Act Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.”Local Waterfront Revitalization Program.”

A brief word from our sponsors…

Town of Wheatland, NY – EPF Project Town of Wheatland, NY – EPF Project SponsorSponsor

Drawing from a Broad Coalition

http://www.blackcreekwatershed.org/

Soil and Water Conservation Districts in Five Counties

31 Municipalities

Various other federal, state and local agencies…

LOCAL CITIZENS & stakeholders

Watershed

All the land that drains into a common point (water body)

Watershed Management Planning

• Four Legs of the Stool• Stages• Balancing Act - Quality of conflicting uses

• Restoration and Protection• Land use and land value• Tools in the toolbox• Prioritize issues and target funding• Coordination and cooperation

Four Legs of the Stool

• Oversight and Involvement

• Education and Outreach

• Public Participation

• Fact Finding

Stages

• Existing State

• Desired State

• Strategies and Actions

Selection of Planning Activities to Date

• Black Creek Watershed Coalition • Oatka Creek Watershed Committee• State of the Basin Reports• Controlling Sediment in the Black & Oatka Creek Watershed

Project– G/FLRPC project funding by the Great Lakes Commission

• Watershed Guides/Pamphlets• Various flood/hazard mitigation planning activities• Wide variety of additional local planning, DEC natural resource

inventorying, water quality sampling & monitoring, and mitigation activities by local governments, SWCDs and academia

Watershed Management Planning Process

• Continue planning and management efforts by integrating these various activities into one cohesive framework for future action (for both watersheds)

• Watershed inventory and assessment

• Establish and prioritize specific watershed goals based on needs

• Identify major knowledge gaps

Watershed Management PlanComponents

• Major components:• Characterization• Sub-watershed Prioritization• Regulatory/Programmatic Evaluation• Identification of Management Strategies• “Phasing Plan” (i.e. Issue Prioritization and

Implementation)• Intermunicipal Coordinating Organizations

Public Input

• Characterization – target for first draft - end of 2010– Public Meeting to be scheduled shortly thereafter

• Focused outreach as necessary– Targeting stakeholder groups for specific

information

• Additional public meetings to review subsequent draft materials

Other Ongoing Initiatives

• Phase II Stormwater/Regulated MS4s

• Individual SWCD projects (such as AEM) and other active grants

• SUNY Brockport

• ….

• TMDL…

• Investigating Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of phosphorus in Black Creek– Under contract with NYSDEC– Using sophisticated watershed modeling

• Will lead to better understanding of Black Creek impairment and:– Potential actions to reduce phosphorus loads, or– Removal of stream from listing of impaired waters

• Draft TMDL report available Spring 2011

Center for Environmental Information TMDL - Project Overview

• Seeking best available information on:– Point source discharges,– Farming practices,– Septic systems

• Completing initial computer modeling runs• Working closely with BCWC and local

SWCDs• For more information contact either:

– Steve Lewandowski (585) 394-5030– Jim Gerek (585) 262-2870

Center for Environmental Information TMDL - Project Overview

Contact Information

Project website

http://gflrpc.org/blackoatka.htm

Brian Slack, AICPSenior Planner/Project

Manager585-454-0190 [email protected]