Watershed Program Research Articles

Source Water Assessment and Protection Programs Leading the Way for Comprehensive Watershed Management Planning

The Philadelphia Water Department (PWD) is using the Source Water Assessment and Protection (SWAP) provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act as the driver to coordinate various federal and state regulatory programs to address water quality and point and nonpoint pollution within the Schuylkill River Watershed. A complete inventory of both point and non-point sources of pollution was assessed to determine their relative impacts on source water quality and drinking water treatment efficacy. This was the most detailed inventory of pollution sources within the watershed and the first to produce a relative understanding as to which sources were the most important in terms of affecting drinking water source quality. The final inventory of priority sites contains both point and non-point sources. It is these priority sites that subsequent comprehensive planning and implementation actions will focus on. This paper will explore the process by which the PWD has managed to successfully complete the assessment phase and how we plan to use the results to develop a watershed protection program. Despite being a mandate from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the PWD plans to incorporate the results from the Source Water Assessments into a larger, comprehensive planning process that includes high priority remedies for other Clean Water Act mandates of fishable/swimmable standards.

Ecosystem Management and Landowner Concern About Regulations: A Case Study in the Missouri Ozarks

This article examines sociopolitical dimensions of ecosystem management through a case study of the Brush Creek EARTH Project, a watershed program in southcentral Missouri. Data were collected through person-to-person structured interviews during the summer of 1997. We investigate factors, particularly the role of trust and efficacy, related to landowner concern that participation in voluntary ecosystem management programs will lead to future regulations of their land use. Many landowners were concerned that participation in the Brush Creek EARTH Project would make them vulnerable to future regulations of their land use. Landowners who were more trusting of the agencies involved in ecosystem management were less likely to be concerned that participation would lead to future regulations. The implications of this study are that the sociopolitical dimensions need to be addressed in ecosystem management, and that specific attention needs to be given to developing trusting relationships with stakeholders.

A woman's place is in… watershed development

In this article we describe the participation of women in the watershed programme in India and look at some ways greater opportunities for women's participation are being introduced. While things are changing, we are cautious about painting too over-optimistic a picture of the scope for ensuring equal opportunities, given the constraints placed on the participation of many women because of the cultural, social, political and economic setting in which they live.

Natural resource management and gender: reflections from watershed programmes in India.

This paper examines a watershed project in India which adheres to the fourth type of policy intervention that is within the gender, environment and development perspective. These policy interventions are projects for men and women, jointly, where the objectives are the improvement of the community as a whole or the economic growth of a state. It is noted that the existing approach in watershed development in the country lays special emphasis on vegetative measures for conservation of soil water as compared to the earlier emphasis on soil works and water harvesting structures. This approach is considered to be more beneficial environmentally as opposed to intensive agriculture. In the context of gender issues, although women's participation is emphasized in the implementation of the project, several limitations have been specified. In view of this, alternative approaches for ensuring sustainable livelihood and women's role within it are explored and recommended. Moreover, an analysis of the GED interface in the specific context of rain-fed farming in the western part of the country is included.

Water and forests as instruments for sustainable regional development

An inappropriate development programme at a mega-tourist project has dramatically reduced water levels in the underground aquifers at Bahias de Huatulco, a beautiful site on the Pacific coast of Oaxaca, Mexico. The indigenous communities in the neighbouring highlands suffered, as their forests were logged and their identity was threatened by the pressures from the globalised tourist programme. By compensating rural groups for their efforts to protect and rebuild these forests, a watershed rehabilitation programme sponsored by a local NGO, with funds from national and international governments, is beginning to help increase local incomes by stimulating conservation efforts and sustainable management and production practices. These programmes are strengthening communal organisations and creating alternatives to the marginal economic opportunities offered by the beach community. Their improved land and water management techniques are facilitating the recharging of the aquifer and new productive activities include reforestation, a wood products industry for forestry by-products, a pure water bottling plant, ecotourism and the creation of natural reserves.

LEVERAGING OUR LEARNING FROM FRESHWATER SITES: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY'S FRESHWATER LEARNING CENTER

LEVERAGING OUR LEARNING FROM FRESHWATER SITES: THE NATURE CONSERVANCY'S FRESHWATER LEARNING CENTERGiven the scope of threats facing freshwater biodiversity across the globe, achieving success in freshwater biodiversity conservation will require experimentation, creative thinking, and collaboration by all conservation practitioners. The Nature Conservancy's Freshwater Learning Center, an aspect of The Freshwater Initiative, encourages these approaches by providing practitioners with training,...Author(s)Nicole RousmaniereSourceProceedings of the Water Environment FederationSubjectSession 23 - Creative Watershed Programs IIIDocument typeConference PaperPublisherWater Environment FederationPrint publication date Jan, 2000ISSN1938-6478SICI1938-6478(20000101)2000:6L.2250;1-DOI10.2175/193864700785149053Volume / Issue2000 / 6Content sourceWatershed ConferenceFirst / last page(s)2250 - 2261Copyright2000Word count79

Tribal Women in Sustainable Development through Watershed Programmes in Vidarbha

The present participatory research was conducted among the Gond tribes of Vidarbha. For centuries, due to lack of political participation, depletion of forest wealth, degenerationof their economic system and the aridity of their land these tribes, especially the women, became the victims of exploitation. Community Action for Development (CAD), an NGO working with the tribal women, convinced them that watershed programmes implemented with people's participation had an inherent quality and strength to alleviate their poverty. The women of ten villages participated voluntarily to achieve this goal. They jointly took decision to dig a number of small ponds and construct numerous check dams to store rain water. The joint endeavours gradually helped them to realize that improved ways of water management could be imparted through folklore, songs, riddles, proverbs, etc. The watershed programmes in all the villages became means to harness their resources and realize their felt needs. It also helped them to develop a sense of unity, power, dignity and self-reliance. The watershed programmebecame a tool for the tribal women to take control of their social milieu which affected their lives. The process provided them with an opportunity to empower themselves.

Bringing Science to Life Through Community-Based Watershed Education

Four elements of successful student-scientist partnerships (SSPs) have been identified through experience in a wide variety of educational settings. SSPs should: use an inquiry-based approach to education; be built around authentic, community-based investigations; let students be scientists; and allow scientists to be educators. Each element is discussed and illuminated with examples from case studies of watershed education programs that are based on an interdisciplinary, action-oriented watershed education model developed by the Global Rivers Environmental Education Network (GREEN).

Developing a river protection policy for Texas: Paddling upstram against the current

State-level wild and scenic river programs currently provide varying levels of protection to over 450 river segments covering 15,500 river miles in 32 states. Collectively, these state-level programs have surpassed the federal system under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in terms of both the number of river miles protected and the quality of protection provided. Content analysis and location quotient analyses are used to evaluate the programmatic features of existing state programs and the spatial distribution of river mileage protected across the United States. Results of the analyses were applied to developing policy recommendations for river protection in Texas, where nine previous legislative attempts to establish a river program have failed. Policy recommendations focus on nurturing local support for watershed and greenway protection programs, and working to overcome riparian landowner fears regarding trespass, littering, and vandalism. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Long-term monitoring for environmental change in U.S. National Parks a watershed approach

The U.S. National Park Service (NPS) is faced with direct questions about the condition of Park natural resources. The watershed approach to long-term monitoring of natural, and remote areas within the National Parks has provided important data for detecting both spacial and temporal changes in environmental conditions. These data collections allow the partitioning of cause and effect relationships of ecological change within a given watershed. They also serve to meet both reference and early warning objectives. Success in advancing a number of 'acid precipitation' goals has demonstrated the usefulness of these integrated watershed data for inter-ecosystem comparison and for analogy between watersheds. The watershed program owing to the NPS experience is proposed as a model for focusing the National Park Service's inventory and monitoring program inititiative. This approach provides to park researchers and resources managers the needed tools for dealing with today's complex local, regional and global natural resources issues.

Dissipation of the Herbicides Atrazine and Alachlor in a Maryland Corn Field

AbstractAtrazine and alachlor are commonly used in Maryland corn fields (Zea mays L.), primarily as pre‐emergence herbicides. This research was part of a watershed program designed to monitor nonpoint source pollution due to runoff of chemicals from agricultural lands. Atrazne (2‐chloro‐4‐ethylamino‐6‐isopropylamino‐1,3,5‐triazine) and alachlor (2‐chloro‐2′,6′‐diethyl‐N‐methoxymethyl acetanilide) were sprayed on a corn field at rates of 1.7 kg/ha and 2.3 kg/ha, respectively. Soil cores were taken from sites at four elevations in the field. At the highest elevation, atrazine underwent a decrease in the surface 5‐cm layer, but a fraction of atrazine was leached into the deeper soil profile. At the middle altitude, atrazine concentrations in the 2.5‐ to 30‐cm soil profile changed very little during the growing season. At the lowest elevation, where soil moisture was rather high, atrazine had an even distribution in the soil profile. Thus, the data on field soil indicated both downward and lateral movement of atrazine. Alachlor remained in the top 8 cm of the soil. Low teachability of alachlor in field soil is believed to result from a strong affinity of alachlor molecules for soil organic matter. Runoff losses were detected at a weir situated near the bottom of the drainage channel of the watershed. During the 1976 growing season, 17 g/ha of atrazine and 3.6 g/ha of alachlor were discharged. About 60% of the discharged herbicides were in the dissolved phase. Flow‐weighted mean herbicide concentrations in the runoff water were 16.9 µg/liter (atrazine) and 0.6 µg/liter (alachlor). Atrazine carryover detected in the corn field soils was generally from 0.09 to 0.56 µg/g. Between 5 and 13% of the atrazine applied to the fields was estimated to be carried over to the next growing season.

Fifty-Year Development of Upstream Flood-Control Works Construction

The upstream watershed protection program of the Soil Conservation Service, USDA, is traced from its beginning in the middle 1930's to the present time. The design and construction of floodwater-retarding structures and their effectiveness in reducing peak flow and flood damages in small upstream watersheds is examined. The design, layout, and effectiveness of vegetative earth spillways in combination with flood storage is pointed out. Criteria for dam and reservoir proportioning and application of the criteria is given. The number of structures built in small watersheds in the United States and their effectiveness under actual large scale storms is considered. Use of rock blankets on embankment slopes to utilize rock from required spillway excavation and to economize on construction of the dam is reviewed. The number and effectiveness of the planned systems of structures is mentioned. An analysis of results from the severe storms in l957, l964, and at other times is given. Channel improvement in lieu of dams in the small watershed program is often the only way to obtain the required degree of protection.

Effects of Stream Channeling on Wetlands in a Minnesota Watershed

Over 60 miles of stream was channeled in the lower three quarters of the Hawk Creek Watershed, west-central Minnesota. Ite channels permitted more rapid removal of flood waters but also encouraged construction of ditches and tilees by providing improved outlets. Wetlands valuable to waterfowl and other wildlife were drained as a result. On a percentage basis, wetland loss in the lower part of the watershed was nine times greater than in the unchanneled upper quarter. BRIEFER ARTICLES This paper presents a case history of a federally assisted, stream-channeling project and resultant wetland loss in the Hawk Greek Watershed, Minnesota. Streams straightened and deepened (channeled) to remove flood waters rapidly and to improve land for agriculture under federal watershed programs encourage drainage of adjacent wetlands valuable to wildlife. These losses are seldon1 measured and documented. The Hawk Creek Watershed is 1 of 11 pilot watershveds established under ffie Flood Control Act of 1936. These watersheds were to be managed with fish, wildlife, and recreational values in mind, as well as for flood control and agricultural purposes. Funds and technical assistance were made available through the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Pilot watersheds were forerunners of those administered under the small watershed program of Public Law 83-566 passed in 1954. I express appreciation to R. Jessen, Minnesota Division of Game and Fish, who initiated the study and reviewed the manuscript. E. Huber, O. Jarvenpa7 and Dr. J. Supported by Federal Aid Project FW-1-R-15. 2 Present address: New Brunswick Fish and Wildlife Branch, Fredericton. 940 Moyle of the same organization, and Dr. K. Harmon, Wildlife Management Institute, provided editorial assistance. HAWK CREEK WATERSHED Hawk Creek drains 502.4 square miles (321,553 acres) in Chippewa, Kandiyohi, and Renville counties of west-central Minnesota and empties into the Minnesota River. A major tributary, Chetomba Creek, drains the eastern part of the watershed and joins Hawk Creek near the lower end (Fig. 1). Much of the watershed is excellent farmland with corn, soybeans, and small grains the principal crops. The topography is rolling to nearly level. Soils7 developed from calcareous glacial tilln are in the Clarion-Nicollet-Webster and Barnes-Aastad-Flom associations ( Arneman 1963:5). Undrained and poorly drained depressions were originally occupied by highly productive shallow lakes and marshes. Although the number of these is unknown) it must have been considerable.

LAND TREATMENT IN WATERSHED PROGRAM AREAS1

ABSTRACTSeveral types of watershed program areas, principally but not solely those operated under authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, are greatly altering the American landscape for good. While structural measures tend to be the most spectacular feature of these watersheds, land treatment measures (soil, water, woodland, and wildlife conservation practices) actually are basic to the long term stability and maximum contributions of these watershed programs.

Economic Evaluation of the Small Watershed Program

Economic Evaluation of the Small Watershed Program

Discussion: Economic Evaluation of the Small Watershed Program

Discussion: Economic Evaluation of the Small Watershed Program

Needed research in sedimentation

All phases of sedimentation research are greatly in need of expanded research. The growing small watershed program will require greater concentration on fundamental mechanics of sedimentation processes rather than generalities. Particular attention is suggested for research in channel stability and new measurement techniques.

The Small Watershed Program

The avowed purpose of the Department of Agriculture's small watershed program is to conserve water by retaining a maximum amount of it on the land where it falls and to retard agricultural damages caused by run-off in a watershed-the land area which contributes to the flow of a stream. A secondary objective claimed by the Department is to complement mainstream works, such as large dams, levees, and dredged channels, by restricting the flow of water during periods of maximum run-off and reducing sedimentation and excessive siltation of the beds of reservoirs and streams. In short, the Department has visualized this program as a part of flood control as well as a foundation for stabilized agricultural production, especially in areas subject to alternating drought and floods, such as the Missouri basin.1 The program requires two related types of construction-flood-control works and land-treatment measures. The latter (B measures) include such soil-conservation measures as terracing, contour plowing, grade control, and crop management, which have been soil-conservation practices for many years. The flood-prevention structures (A measures) are small wet or dry dams, intended either to create permanent pools or to reduce streamflow during heavy rains, gully-control structures, floodways, bank-protection works, and channel improvements. In order that flood-prevention works may be constructed, the land-treatment measures must be at least fifty per cent completed in a watershed. Although primary emphasis is placed on these two complementary phases of the program (with special need for accelerating landtreatment measures), present legislation also authorizes construction related to municipal and industrial water supply, stream-flow regulation, irrigation, drainage, and agricultural water management.

Institutional Arrangements for Watershed Programs

Institutional Arrangements for Watershed Programs

The Art of Planning as Related to Watershed Control

From time to time, papers have been presented before the water works associations on the subject of watershed sanitation. These usually deal with the state laws or rules and regulations relating to abatement of any existing violations, together with descriptions of problems of over recreational activities including fishing and boating in the immediate vicinity of and in impounding reservoirs, lakes and other bodies of water from which the supply is obtained. Some water purveyors, but relatively few in number, have established a fairly comprehensive watershed program as a protection for the supply. Those in charge of watersheds have not begun, for the most part, to realize the possibilities of the word control or yet of prevention. During the past 10 years, prevention through studies of causation of disease has become an integral part of the program of public health administration and has accomplished splendid results in the of many communicable diseases. Considerable research has been done by the writer and this paper has been prepared to outline possible methods and means for developing and carrying out a comprehensive program of watershed protection over a long period of years, a program which is applicable to all water resources whether used as a source of potable water or otherwise. Such a program is therefore a part of any scheme of coordinated development either on a community or a broader basis. The basic elements of watershed sanitation, have changed greatly in the past 20 years, due to a great variety of factors. Inaccessibility, as a protection to impounding reservoirs has largely disappeared and the present means of quick transportation over Jong distances has tended to increase accidental or promiscuous pollution of small tributary streams, or even of the impounding reservoir itself. Increased leisure time has become an important factor. While large scale property ownership in itself may not prevent trespass and ac-