Watershed Management Plans
Watershed Management Plans
Texas Stream Team places a priority on increasing the amount of citizen scientist activity in areas that are developing or implementing a variety of watershed management plans. Working alongside Watershed Services at The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas Stream Team helps to facilitate community correspondence, stakeholder engagement, and science-based solutions to water quality issues. Texas Stream Team also provides frequent citizen scientist trainings in these areas, with the goal of increasing the amount of citizen scientist monitoring occurring in the surrounding watershed.
Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program
A TMDL is a water resource management plan that targets the worst pollutants in a particular stream or body of water. When developing a TMDL, stakeholders define an environmental target and, based on that target, work to develop an implementation plan to mitigate anthropogenic (human-caused) sources of pollution within the watershed.
The goal of a TMDL is to restore the full use of a water body that has limited quality or specific impairments. Texas Stream Team works alongside communities to develop and implement TMDL plans with the goal of improving water quality in impaired or threatened water bodies in Texas. This program is authorized by and created to fulfill the requirements of Section 303 (d) of the federal Clean Water Act.
Current Texas Stream Team TMDL Projects:
Watershed Protection Plans
A watershed protection plan (WPP) is a coordinated framework for implementing prioritized and integrated water quality protection and restoration strategies driven by environmental objectives. Through the WPP process, stakeholders holistically address all of the sources and causes of impairments and threats to both surface and ground water resources within a watershed.
Developed and implemented through diverse, well integrated partnerships, a WPP assures the long-term health of the watershed with strategies for protecting unimpaired waters and restoring impaired waters. Texas Stream Team places a priority on increasing citizen science and community resources in areas currently developing or implementing a WPP. For more information about WPPs, please visit the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board or the EPA's Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters.
Current Texas Stream Team WPP Projects:
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How can the public participate?
Members of the public are highly encouraged to participate in watershed management plans, such as WPPs and TMDLs. Members of the public can participate in a variety of ways, including:
- Becoming a certified Texas Stream Team Citizen Scientist and contributing water quality data for your watershed.
- Becoming a certified Texas Stream Team Trainer and hosting trainings in your community.
- Getting informed on local TMDL and WPP projects in your community. For statewide WPP projects, please visit the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board, as well as the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). For TMDL projects, please visit the TCEQ TMDL project page.
- Volunteering with local, watershed-focused nonprofits. Some good examples include Headwaters at the Comal, the San Marcos River Foundation, and the Save Barton Creek Association.
- Participating in public stakeholder meetings. All public TMDL meetings can be found on the TCEQ TMDL calendar.
Communicating with city officials and community leaders regarding your ambitions for improving water quality. Check your city’s website for applicable contact information.