Watershed-Based Plans

About Watershed-Based Planning

Watershed-Based Plans

A watershed approach is the most effective way to manage today’s water resource challenges. A watershed plan that follows such an approach is described by nine elements outlined by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

The nine elements include:

1. Identify causes and sources of pollution
2. Estimate pollutant loading into the watershed and the expected load reductions
3. Describe management measures that will achieve load reductions and targeted critical areas
4. Estimate amounts of technical and financial assistance and the relevant authorities needed to implement the plan
5. Develop an information/education component
6. Develop a project schedule
7. Describe the interim, measurable milestones
8. Identify indicators to measure progress
9. Develop a monitoring component

Several watershed plans have been developed in Nevada and accepted by US EPA. They include:

The Carson River Watershed Adaptive Stewardship Plan

The Las Vegas Wash Comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan

The Lake Tahoe TMDL Implementation Plan

Local watershed groups are encouraged to develop watershed plans, as implementation of water quality improvements have access to a larger funding pool if a plan exists.

Alternative Watershed-Based Plans

It is recognized that many local groups already have in place, or are developing, watershed-based plans and strategies at varying levels of scale, scope, and specificity. US EPA recognizes that an alternative plan to a watershed-based plan, also called an “alternative plan,” may provide an effective roadmap to achieve the water quality goals of Section 319-funded restoration or protection efforts. In such cases, states must provide US EPA with justification for why a complete nine-element plan is unnecessary and why an alternative plan is sufficient to guide watershed project implementation. When developing alternative plans, partners are encouraged to build on existing planning documents that adequately address some or all the required elements. Like nine-element plans, existing planning documents, such as Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs), TMDL implementation plans, and other restoration or protection plans, may serve as valuable building blocks for an alternative plan. When using existing planning documents, the alternative plan should clearly reference those documents.

Alternative plans that have been developed in Nevada and approved by US EPA include:

The Watershed Management And Protection Plan For Tributaries To The Truckee River

The Gold Ranch Fire Restoration Alternative Plan

Please reach out to NDEP - Nonpoint Source Pollution Grants email (ndepnpsgrants [at] ndep.nv.gov) if there are questions about grant funding opportunities.