Watershed Scale Implementation of Watershed Management

Watershed Scale Implementation

Extension programs at Land Grant Universities are working to help communities select and evaluate watershed scale improvement efforts. These programs conduct watershed scale training on the tools available, including best management practices (BMPs) and onsite wastewater alternatives, to reduce risks within a watershed. Extension has been part of watershed scale implementation and post-implementation monitoring.

Extension activities pertaining to "Watershed Scale Implementation" can be broken into the following categories (link further down this page):
Watershed Scale Training
Watershed Scale Implementation
Post-Implementation Monitoring

Watershed Scale Training

Selection and Siting of BMPs
Extension professionals are learning from research projects that are implementing/monitoring BMPs at the watershed scale and other research projects on watershed modeling and assessment. This knowledge is reflected in Extension programs geared toward community leaders as well as stakeholders that offer training on BMP selection and siting. Such Extension programs include:
Community Oriented Programs for Community Decision Makers
GIS Education/Training Programs
Programs serving as portals to watershed information and models
Watershed Initiatives
TMDL Training and Assistance
General Stakeholder Education

University of Rhode Island Onsite Wastewater Treatment Center training Onsite Wastewater Alternatives
Approximately 1/3 of the U.S. population uses septic systems to treat domestic wastewater. When these systems work improperly or fail, nitrogen, phosphorus and pathogens may be released into the groundwater; this contamination could pose a potential health threat in drinking water supplies and general water quality problems. There are numerous CSREES programs, including the Ohio State University Soil Environment Technology Learning Lab , the University of Maryland Cooperative Extension Water Quality Program (Miller 2004), and the University of Minnesota Onsite Sewage Treatment Program that teach proper septic system operation, maintenance, design, installation and inspection through fact sheets and demonstrations to homeowners, professionals and commercial establishments. These programs even assist local communities with regulations and planning.
Accomplishments:
The University of Rhode Island Onsite Wastewater Treatment Center has installed 56 demonstration systems (Loomis, 2003). More than 2,000 members of industry, local government officials, real estate professionals, CSREES Water Quality professionals from across the U.S., and the general public have been educated and trained at the Center which highlights 15 full-scale technologies. Thanks to the Center’s efforts, several municipalities have adopted risk-based wastewater management schemes which will help protect drinking water resources.

A CSREES Regional Water Quality Project in US EPA Region 2 is developing a model for education of local government officials and contractors on successful installation, performance, and management of on-site wastewater treatment systems (Grantham 2004).

Watershed Scale Implementation
Many research projects that are implementing and evaluating BMPs at the watershed scale include an Extension component. To learn more about these projects, visit “Evaluating BMPs at the Watershed Scale” and “Paired Watershed Studies”.

Post-Implementation Monitoring
Water quality monitoring and assessment is critical to document the impacts of watershed scale implementation efforts on water quality. Extension volunteer monitoring efforts can provide such useful data.

The intent of this page is not to catalogue all activities but rather to indicate the types of Extension activities in the Watershed Management theme across the U.S.