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WATERSHED CENTRAL: AN INTEGRATED WATERSHED ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT WEBSITE (2)
Citation:
WILLIAMS, J. R., S. LEHMAN, AND M. CHANG. WATERSHED CENTRAL: AN INTEGRATED WATERSHED ASSESSMENT AND MANAGEMENT WEBSITE (2). Presented at The River Rally 2007 , Stevenson, WA, May 18 - 22, 2007.
Impact/Purpose:
To inform the public.
Description:
The Clean Water Act (CWA) requires that States develop pollution reduction targets for impaired or threatened waters often referred to as total maximum daily loads (TMDLs). These are waters that do not meet state water quality standards or will have impending problems meeting them in the near future. States implement TMDLs via wastewater treatment discharge permits (for point sources) and various nonpoint source programs. State and local governments face a broad range of technical, economic and political issues when they develop TMDLs, and implement management plans to demonstrate achievement of water quality standards. Recognition of the importance of multiple loadings, land use impacts, and non-point sources that alter water quality and quantity has led water quality managers to adopt a watershed approach to achieve their restoration and protection goals. This approach, which requires an area-wide multi-disciplinary assessment of water issues, has led to recognition of the need for an integrated framework and a centralized location for access to information, tools, and resources needed to develop, implement and evaluate the plans required to achieve these goals. The U.S.EPA’s Office of Water (OW), Office of Research and Development (ORD), and Office of Environmental Information (OEI) have teamed together with other Federal Agencies, state and local agencies, tribal agencies, and non-government organizations, to develop an integrated framework for providing watershed managers and decision-makers with the databases, models, decision support tools, and other resources needed to develop, implement and evaluate watershed management plans. This framework is the basis for organizing a centralized website to provide access to modeling and decision support tools and resources. Based on findings from a development workshop held in January 2007, several tools and resources have been identified as useful by a wide range of watershed managers. This workshop provided a baseline for what should be incorporated within Watershed Central, and identified gaps where additional tools and resources are needed and the research required to address those gaps. Watershed Central, while it is currently in a conceptual and mock-up form, ultimately will result in being a valuable resource to local watershed managers, and a feedback mechanism for Agency decision-makers to use in the prioritization of research and technical support/technology transfer needs.