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Watershed Planning for Water Quality Management
Why Plan and Manage on a Watershed Basis?
Properly managing land activities protects water for designated
and desired uses
Upstream activities impact downstream Builds on strengths of
existing programs Leverage local resources Involves all
stakeholders Address concerns in an integrated, cost
effective manner
A watershed approach helps to...A watershed approach helps
to...
2. Facilitate Communication
and Partnerships
3. Provide Means of Cost-Effective Management
1. Encourage Sound Science
4. Focus on Environmental Results
The Watershed Planning Process
EPA’s Nine Elements for Plans
a. Identify causes & sources of pollutionb. Estimate load
reductions expected c. Describe mgmt measures & targeted
critical areasd. Estimate technical and financial assistance needed
e. Develop education component f. Develop project schedule g.
Describe interim, measurable milestonesh. Identify indicators to
measure progressi. Develop a monitoring component
Source: US EPA, 2004 319 Supplemental Guidelines
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CHAPTER 1
Identifying and Networking with Local Agencies and Citizens
Initial Steps
Identify your watershed concerns Identify groups/individuals
with similar
concerns Conduct a stakeholder meeting Develop a watershed
description
What is a stakeholder?
A group or individual who: has the responsibility for
implementing the decision. is affected by the decision. has the
ability to impede or
assist in implementing the decision.
Why are stakeholders important to the process?
Ensures that concerns are factored into the decisions made
Shares the responsibility of the decision Enables partnerships
to be formed to combine
financial resources Shares implementation of the decision
Establishes a framework for planning and
conducting management activities
First stakeholder meeting Discuss all existing and perceived
concerns Opportunity for everyone to state their
concerns Record concerns Assemble a steering committee
TIPA steering committee
provides overall direction.
Members include decision makers
and groups affected by the
change.
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Identify a lead organization Ensures planning &
implementation moves
forward Represents entire area Ideally, has staff &
resources
Form a technical committee
TIPA technical
committee provides technical information to the
steering committee.
Members are experts in one or
more fields.
•Professional expertise
•Access to resources (maps, data)
Determine the boundaries and size of your watershed based on:
concerns watershed characteristics manageable size
less than 150 square miles or 100,000 acres is recommended
Hydrologically Distinct Watershed
entire river system river tributary from headwaters to point
where joins main branch segment of river from headwaters to a
dam,
or where a tributary joins the river lake watershed
Geographic Scope
Description of the watershed (page 7) Map with watershed
boundaries and
location of all surface waters Watershed boundaries Location of
all surface waters
(lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands)
Kalamazoo River Watershed Sub-basins• Gun River
• 4 Townships
• Battle Creek River
• Portage & Arcadia Creeks
• Davis Creek
• Rice Creek
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Lake Allegan Gun Lake
Exercise:Gun River Watershed
Allegan/Barry Counties
107 sq. miles
Developing a watershed description
Gun River – Allegan/Barry Counties 107 square miles including
State Recreation Area Increasing development pressure Two
wastewater treatment plants Heavily drained and irrigated
agriculture
Includes twelve miles of intercounty drain Agricultural lands
flood frequently Base flows significantly reduced in summer
Gun Lake Fully developed and sewered, all-sports lake DNR
access, parks and campground Invasive species: E. milfoil, zebra
mussels
Includes designated coldwater fishery
Gun River WatershedThe Gun River Watershed (Watershed)
encompasses an area of 73,272
acres in Allegan and Barry Counties, Michigan. The Gun River
flows from Gun Lake through agricultural land into the urbanizing
area of Otsego Township, Allegan County, where it joins the
Kalamazoo River. The Gun River and its tributaries are impaired by
nonpoint source (NPS) pollution. Previous studies have identified
pathogens, phosphorus, polychlorinated biphenyls s (PCBs), mercury,
nutrients, and poor macroinvertebrate communities as degrading the
water quality in certain waterbodies within the Watershed. Other
significant water quality impairments include degraded indigenous
aquatic habitat, a decline of biotic diversity, and reduced fish
populations caused by sedimentation.
CHAPTER 2
Getting to Know Your Watershed
Steps Identify designated & desired uses Identify
pollutants, sources and causes Estimate pollutant loads Develop
goals based on designated/desired
uses and desired load reductions Develop an initial water
quality summary
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Designated Uses Agriculture Industrial water supply Public water
supply Navigation Warmwater fishery* Other indigenous aquatic life
& wildlife Partial body contact recreation Total body contact
recreation (May 1- Oct 31)
*Some water bodies - coldwater fishery
Is your waterbody meeting designated uses?
TIP Contact DEQ
staff, or local agencies for assistance.
•Identify designated use that corresponds to each watershed
concern
•Determine if the waterbody is impaired
Example Watershed – page 8Concerns
Algal blooms
Eroding road-stream crossings, river flooding
Livestock in streams, poor fishing
Designated UsesPartial body contact recreation, warmwater
fishery
Aquatic life/wildlife
Warmwater fishery
Desired Uses
How you want to use your watershed
Go beyond water quality concerns
Exercise 2:
Gun River Watershed
Allegan/Barry Counties
107 sq. miles
Relating watershed concerns with designated uses
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Impaired Designated Use
Warmwater fishery
Threatened Designated Use
Public groundwater supply
Pollutants
Sediment (k) nutrients (k) hydrologic flow (s) and pesticides
(s)
______________________
Nutrients - nitrates in drinking water (k)
Identify known (k) or suspected (s) pollutants of concern in
your watershed
Identify known (k) or suspected (s) sources of pollutants in
your watershed
Pollutants
Sediment (k) nutrients (k) hydrologic flow (s)
__________________
Nutrients - nitrates in drinking water (k)
Sources
Road-stream crossings(k), eroding stream banks (k), urban
stormwater(s)
_____________________
Livestock manure (s), nitrogen fertilizers (s), septic systems
(s)
Identify known or suspected causes of the sources of pollutants
in your watershed
Pollutants
Sediment (k) nutrients (k) hydrologic flow (s)
________________
Nutrients - nitrates in drinking water (k)
Sources
Road crossings(k), stream banks (k), urban stormwater (s)
_________________
Livestock manure (s), nitrogen fertilizers (s), septic systems
(s)
Causes
Undersized culverts (k), flashy flows(s), poor
mgt.practices(s)
_______________
Over application/lack of soil testing(s), poor design &
maintenance(s)
Understanding pollutants, sources and causes
Definition:Cause is the condition that is creating the
source of the pollutant
NOTE: To design a successful pollution control measure, you must
understand the cause.
Table of known (k) or suspected (s)pollutants, sources and
causes
Pollutant Source Cause
E.coli bacteria(k) Livestock in stream(k),
Failing septic systems(s)
Unrestricted access(k)
Poor design and maintenance(s)
Exercise 3
Create a list of preliminary pollutants, sources and whether
they are known or suspected. If they are
known, how do you know?
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Exercise 3
Gun River Watershed
Allegan/Barry Counties
107 sq. miles
Identifying pollutants, sources and causes
Estimating Pollutant Loads
Why is Pollutant Load Estimation Necessary?
Identify relative magnitude of contributions from different
sources
Determine whether locations of sources are critical
Evaluate timing of source loading
Target future management efforts Plan restoration strategies
Project future loads under changing conditions
Develop a mechanism for quantifying potential improvement
Pollutant Load Estimation Approaches
Has it already been done? Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
Other local and regional studies
If not… Data-driven approaches
Best when detailed monitoring data is available
Models Provide greater insight into impact of sources
(temporally
and spatially)
Readily allow for evaluation of future conditions
Data-driven Approaches
Estimate source loads using: Monitoring data
Periodic water quality concentrations and flow gauging data
Facility discharge monitoring reports
Literature Loading rates, often by landuse (e.g.,
lbs/acre/year)
Typical facility concentrations and flow
If a Data-driven Approach Isn’t Enough…Models are Available
A theoretical construct, together with assignment of numerical
values to
model parameters, incorporating some prior observations drawn
from
field and laboratory data, and relating external inputs or
forcing functions to
system variable responses
* Definition from: Thomann and Mueller, 1987
What is a Model?
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Is a Model Necessary? It depends what you want to know… What are
the loads associated with individual
sources? Where and when does impairment occur? Is a particular
source or multiple sources generally
causing the problem? Will management actions result in meeting
water
quality standards? Which combination of management actions
will
most effectively meet load targets? Will future conditions make
impairments worse? How can future growth be managed to minimize
adverse impacts?
Probably Not
Probably
Develop goals based on…. Designated uses
Threatened Impaired
Desired uses Desired load reductions
Example: Reduce soil erosion and sedimentation to protect the
warm water fishery.
Chapter 3
Defining the Critical Area in Your Watershed Plan
or Getting the biggest bang for your
buck!
What is A Critical Area?
The geographic portion of the watershed that contributes a
majority of the pollutants and is having a significant impact on
the water body.
What Are the Purposes for Defining the Critical Area?
• Identifies the geographic area that will be inventoried in
detail
•Determines the geographic area that will have water quality
improvement practices installed
Ways to identify the Critical Area:
Corridor
Subwatershed
Entire Watershed
Combination
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Delineate Critical Area based on data analysis such as:
Designated Uses
Pollutant Loads and their Sources
Pathway of the Pollutants & Distance to the Water Body
Topography Soils Land Use and Management
Chapter 4
Surveying the Watershed to Inventory Your Critical Area
Reasons for the Inventory
1) Refine the list of known and suspected pollutants, sources
and causes
2) To locate the sources of pollution on a watershed map
3) Quantify or categorize the sources of pollution4) To move the
Steering and Technical
Committees to a position of knowledge5) Refine the Critical
Area
What Methods Are Available For Inventorying the Critical
Area?
Visual Public Surveys Computer Modeling Monitoring
Monitoring
1) Habitat Monitoring
2) Chemical Water Quality Monitoring
3) Hydrologic Monitoring
At this point….. Defined a critical area Conducted an inventory
of that critical area Updated and refined your table of:
pollutants,
sources and causes and pollutant loads Added numbers and
locations of sites
corresponding with each source Documented the method(s) used to
conduct your
inventory. Developed initial goals.
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CHAPTER 5
Prioritizing Pollutants, Sources and Causes
Exercise 4:
Gun River Watershed
Allegan/Barry Counties
107 sq. miles
Prioritizing pollutants, sources and causes within the critical
area
Questions?CHAPTER 6
Determining Objectives for Your Watershed Goals
Develop objectives for each of your watershed goals
Review initial goals & determine how you will reduce
pollution from a source to protect or restore a designated/desired
use
Example WatershedObjectives for One Goal
GoalRestore the
warmwater fishery
ObjectivesReduce the amount of sediment by: Stabilizing eroding
road-stream
crossings Stabilizing eroding stream banks Restricting livestock
from the
stream
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Chapter 7
Identify BMPs for each source or cause of pollution in the
watershed
Combine BMPs into Systems
What are BMPs?
Best Management Practices (BMPs) are measures and actions that
interrupt the detachment, transport and delivery of pollutants.
BMPs prevent or reduce pollution from nonpoint sources.
Structural
Vegetative Managerial
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BMPs are typically planned and applied as systems. Quantifying
BMPs
Quantifying potential impacts from BMPs is critical to watershed
planning! Provides a guide toward achieving load reduction goal
Informs selection of a management strategy
Spreadsheet and modeling tools are available Spreadsheet
tools
Most useful for watershed-scale analysis
Operate on a large time step
Watershed/site-scale models Useful for local scale, as well as
watershed-scale
Can operate on a short time-step (including individual
storms)
Provide a key first step for engineering design
BMP Optimization
What is optimum? Minimize cost Maximize pollutant flow and/or
load reduction Combination of the above
Find optimum BMP placement and selection strategies based on
pre-selected potential sites and applicable BMP types
Identify Specific BMP Options Guidance Manuals:
Guidebook of Best Management Practices for Michigan
Watersheds
Water Quality Practices on Forest Land Storm Water Management
Guide Book Natural Resources Protection Strategy for
Michigan Golf Courses National Mgmt Measures to Control NPS
Pollution from Agriculture
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CHAPTER 8
Identifying and Analyzing Projects, Programs and Ordinances
Steps
Identify the local programs, projects, ordinances and design
standards that currently impact water quality
Evaluate them to see if they are consistent with the goals of
your watershed plan
Identify opportunities to coordinate with or improve upon
them
Clean Water Act - Stormwater
Regulates Municipal Separate Storm Sewers (MS4s)
Permit required since 2003
Owned/operated by a municipality or public agency
Discharges to surface waters of the state
Stormwater Permit Requirements
Public Participation Public Education Illicit Discharge
Elimination Construction Stormwater Runoff Post Construction
Stormwater Runoff Pollution Prevention and Good Housekeeping Water
Quality Requirements (addressing Total
Maximum Daily Loads for specific pollutants)
Are existing programs, projects & ordinances consistent with
the goals
of your watershed plan? Relate to the goals of the watershed?
Effectively addressing water quality? If
not, what needs to change? What partnerships exist? How well are
they
working? Opportunities for cooperation on new
activities?
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Asking the right questions . . . Who can help implement the BMPs
or controls?
Agencies, businesses, non-profits, citizens, producers
How can they be implemented? What has been done in the past? How
well did it work? Can we do it (or adapt it) here?
When can we get started? Reasonable short-term actions Long-term
or major actions
How do we know if it’s working? And what do we do if it’s
not?
Chapter 9Informing and Involving
the Public
Developing info/ed activities Define overall goal and objectives
Identify and characterize target audience Create message(s) for
target audience(s) Package the messages for distribution Distribute
messages to the audiences Evaluate the information/education
effort
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Delivering the Message
Some Pointers from Experience: Create an I/E Subcommittee Keep
the message simple and straightforward Use graphics and photos to
illustrate Events in the watershed give a sense of ownership
Communicate and build partnerships Be visible in the watershed,
partner meetings, and media Create a logo for the watershed and use
it on everything
Develop a Public Participation Process for the Plan
Show the opportunities for public comment
Partners (stakeholders) involvement in developing the watershed
plan
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An Approvable Watershed Plan
Must include an I/E Strategy and a summary of the public
participation process used in developing the plan. It should show
the opportunity for public comment and how the partners were
involved in developing the watershed plan.
Chapter 10
Evaluation
Develop an Evaluation Process
A description of the strategies that will be used to evaluate
the effectiveness of implementing the plan and achieving its
goals
Monitoring component to measure water quality changes over
time
Why is an evaluation important?
• Tells whether or not your efforts are successful
• Provides a feedback loop for improvement
An evaluation can show…
• Changes in knowledge or awareness
• Changes in attitudes or behavior
• Which BMPs were adopted or not
• Changes in condition of the watershed
• Improvements in water quality
Establish indicators & targets for management objectives
INDICATOR = measurable parameter used to evaluate relationship
between pollutant sources and environmental conditions
TARGET = value of indicator that is set as the goal to
achieve
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Other types of indicators Environmental Indicators:
# of occurrences of algal blooms miles of streambank restored or
fenced off % increase in “healthy-stream” critters Increase in DO #
of waterbodies restored
Administrative/programmatic indicators: # of BMPs installed # of
newspaper stories printed # of people educated/trained # of public
meetings held # of volunteers attending activities # of storm
drains stenciled
Select an evaluation method that is right for your watershed
For each objective or task ask: “How can I measure
effectiveness?”
Select an evaluation method that performs the desired
measurement.
Chapter 11Write the Plan
Assemble the Plan Document
• Provides the “Big Picture” of the watershed
• Describes action-oriented tasks to address water quality in
the watershed
Contents of a Watershed Plan Introduction
Plan area & description, partners, background
Water quality information & analysis WQ goals,
monitoring/assessment results Key pollutants / sources, causes,
current loads
Proposed management measures Load reductions needed, BMP types
proposed Reductions expected from BMPs, installation sites
Implementation plan Public info/education &
outreach/involvement plan BMP/$$/TA support sources, project
schedule & costs
Monitoring and adaptive management approach Interim measurable
milestones, load reduction criteria Evaluation framework,
monitoring plan & partners
Implement the Plan• Monitor and encourage
Partners/Stakeholders
to complete Assignments on Schedule
• Evaluate and Report Progress
• Celebrate Successes
• Update the Plan