Watershed Planning

The Association of Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (AISWCD) currently assists a total of ten active watershed planning groups throughout the state of Illinois. These ten Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) are recipients of a mini-grant through the AISWCD, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA), and the United States EPA. In addition to financial assistance the planning groups also receive technical assistance from the AISWCD Watershed Liaison.

The Watershed Liaison position is supported by EPA’s 319 Nonpoint Source Unit. This position provides a point of contact for the SWCDS and IEPA. This bridge between the districts and the agency is valuable for both organizations because it creates a one stop information source for both parties. If IEPA wants to communicate a new priority for the watershed planning groups they can rely on the Liaison to pass that message along to those groups as well as the rest of the 88 SWCDs. The districts in turn may have questions for the agency that are similar to each other’s questions but at different phases of planning. In this case the Liaison can act as a clearing house for general information on IEPA policies as they relate to watershed planning, invoicing for general Nonpoint Source Pollution grants, impaired waters within specific watersheds, and Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) guidance.

Many of the sponsored watershed plans are being developed in TMDL watersheds. The EPA is charged with conducting TMDL studies which are meant to locate the source of pollutants and calculate pollutant load reductions necessary for watersheds to meet Clean Water Act standards. A common challenge with the TMDL process is that the studies are often performed by consultants, hired by IEPA, who are unfamiliar with the watersheds. In fact many of the consultants are from other states. In these situations, SWCDs play an important role in informing the consultants about what is really going on in their counties that is influencing pollution. The SWCDs’ assistance may come in the form of identifying where and how many conservation practices are installed in the watershed, providing land use data, sources of pollution, and in soliciting participation from landowners and other stakeholders.

When a TMDL is being developed, watershed planning groups use the load reductions to form priorities, goals, and strategies to meet TMDL recommendations. Later in the plan the planning committees develop timelines for achieving theirs goals and finally a monitoring program for keeping the plan implementation on track. Ultimately, communication between IEPA and the districts is a key element in developing watershed plans that coincide with the agency’s priorities. Once approved by IEPA the projects outlined in the plan are given priority over practices in other watersheds not backed by a watershed plan.