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