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A Watershed InventoryTool for Local Partnerships
(“The Land Inventory”)
Jane FrankenbergerDepartment of Agricultural and
Biological Engineering,Purdue University
Susan McLoudNRCS Liaison, Indiana
Department of EnvironmentalManagement
What is the Watershed Inventory
Tool for Indiana?! Workbook format! Designed to be used by
interested, “non-expert”volunteers
! Builds on simple tools likeFarm*A*Syst,Home*A*Syst, and manyothers around the country
The watershedinventory tool….
! Focuses on the land, notthe water
! Considers possible waterquality concernsassociated with each landuse
! Can be used with orwithout GIS
Goals of the WatershedInventory Tool for
Indiana! Enable local watershed partnerships to
locate potential sources of pollution inthe watershed in order to develop abetter management plan
! Help local people understand what isgoing on in their watershed, and how itmight affect water quality
Why did we think youneeded a Tool?
! Determining “what is there now”is a basic step in watershedmanagement
! Water quality monitoring oftenneeds to continue for severalyears, to make accurateconclusions
! Land inventory can help withchoosing water monitoring sites
! Land inventory can help makesense out of water monitoringresults.
! Inventory can help validate citizenconcerns
! Provides data beyond what citizensusually supply
Frankenberger & McLoud, Watershed Assessment Tool for Indiana
How the Inventory Tool is organized:
1. Basic information to get you started;
2. Sections based on human activities on the land;
3. Questions to help you make sense of the information.
Watershed boundaries! Usually 11-digit or
14-digit HUA
N
Elkhart River-Leedy Ditch
RoadsCities_2000WatershedcountyStreams
!Can also delineateactual boundaries for awatershed that mightnot line up with“officially delineated”hydrologic unit areas
Natural features of thewatershed
! Soils! Floodplains! Topography! Karst areas
Land use overview
! Determine current land use! Determine zoned land uses! Compare the two to see future land use! (For example, a watershed that is 30%
urban and residential now, but zoned tobe 70%, should consider that inwatershed management!)
Land use overview
Streams, lakes & wetlands! Determine which
streams are legaldrains
! Determine which areofficially impaired[303(d) list, fishconsumptionadvisories, beachclosings]
Streams, lakes & wetlands! Observe as many
locations as possible(observations similarto Streamwalk, butsimpler than NRCSVisual StreamAssessment)
! Locate wetlands fromNational WetlandInventory
Urban & residential areas! Locate subdivisions! Map sewered and unsewered dwellings
County Road 17
County Road 118
Glenf or d
Nathe na
Walter
N
Agricultural/ResidentialCommertial/industrialHigh intensity residentialLow intensity residentialNo Data
WatershedRoadsStreams
Urban & residential areas! Identify stormwater practices. Will
community be developing a stormwatermanagement plan? (Phase II)
! Construction site erosion control
Urban & residential areas
! Locate large impervious areas
! Golf courses and other large turf areas
Regulated pollutantsources
! Use EPA Web sites (Envirofacts;Enviromapper) to locate! NPDES permits! Superfund sites
Regulated pollutantsources
! Locate any landfills from state data! Determine if combined sewer overflows
discharge into stream! Locate stormwater outfalls (Phase II makes
many more regulated)
! Identify other (unpermitted or unknown)discharges
Agriculture! Locate agricultural land in the watershed
Count y Road 17
County Road 36
County Road 32
State Road 119
Cou nt y R oa d 1 5
N
Agricultural/ResidentialCommertial/industrialHigh intensity residentialLow intensity residentialNo Data
RoadsStreamsWatershed
Agriculture! Can estimate
pesticide and fertilizeruse
! Identify livestockoperations
Agriculture! Identify tillage practices
and erosion estimates(from tillage survey)
! Conduct windshieldsurvey of cropland,pasture, and livestockareas; look for buffers,obvious erosion, signsof overgrazing, BMPs,etc.
Forests & Wildlife! Identify publicly owned land
& Classified Forest! Identify special areas such
as riparian forest! Find out if there are
threatened and endangeredspecies
! Conduct windshield surveyto identify any logging
Mining & Drilling
! Identify active, reclaimed, & abandonedmines
! Identify active & abandoned oil & gaswells and brine contamination sites
! For assistance & recommendations,contact Division of Reclamation
Social & economicfactors
! Historical information! Census data, population trends,
housing trends! New businesses, economic trends! Farm consolidation! Watershed projects and other
conservation programs
Pulling it all together
! Make maps!!!! Make tables! Ask questions and develop “problem
statements”as a group
Pulling it all together -Questions
! What have we learned about this landscapethat we think needs to change? Whatraises red flags?
! What have we learned that is positive andneeds to be maintained or protected?
! Do we know enough to reach decisions? Ifnot, what else do we need to find out?
! What are the priorities or targets foreach land use?
Turn observations intoproblem statements
! “A plume of sediment [problem] is visiblegoing into Lick Creek north of CemeteryRoad when it rains. From our fieldobservations it appears to be due to thelack of erosion and sediment controlpractices [cause] in the new Country Cornersubdivision” [source]
Another more generalexample:
Streambank erosion was noted at 60% ofstream observation points, and we knowthat impervious area in the watershed hasincreased from 8% to 15% over the lastfive years. There’s a lot of new commercialstrip developments in the headwaters, anda new SuperTarget going in.
It appears that increased impervious area ischanging the hydrology of the streams andcausing banks to erode.
One more:“Possum Creek, which is on the 303(d) list for
“impaired biotic community,” runs throughthree farms where beef cattle have freeaccess to the stream. The stream banksare bare and eroded.
It appears that livestock access to thestream is degrading aquatic habitat.”
Experiences of groupsthat have tried it
! Some had trouble getting volunteers toparticipate -- Inventory conducted bypaid watershed coordinator and agencypersonnel
! In others, coordinator did backgroundwork (checking Web sites, locatingstudies, maps, etc.) while volunteers did“driving around” portions.
Volunteer participationin inventory
! Different people like different kinds ofmaps (topographic map, aerialphotograph blown up, plat book)
! Didn’t like to fill out forms. Preferredarrows on maps with elaborate notes inmargin of map
! They felt a great deal of “ownership” ofthe section they had done
Frankenberger & McLoud, Watershed Assessment Tool for Indiana
How do you get it?
! Download tool fromhttp://www.ecn.purdue.edu/SafeWater/watershed