What is a watershed?
It is the land across and under which water flows on its way to a stream, river, lake or other water body.  Each of us lives in a watershed.

What is watershed management?
Since everything we do in a watershed affects the soil, water, air, plants and animals in it, watershed management means reducing those activities that result in runoff of soil and pollutants that might negatively affect the quality or our streams, lakes and groundwater and that affect droughts and flooding because of too little or too much water in the watershed.

Why watershed management?
Water is vital to the life and growth of our communities. Your watershed is not only the source of your community's drinking water, but is essential to the local economy through use in industry and agriculture. Water provides scenic beauty and areas for recreational activity. If a watershed is not managed properly, these uses of water can be threatened by pollution, drought or flooding, which cost money and can cost lives.

What is the watershed framework?
In an effort to coordinate resource management activities among many agencies and organizations, the state has adopted a Watershed Management Framework. Its mission is to serve as a means for integrating the programs, tools and resources of multiple stakeholder groups to better protect, maintain and restore the ecology of watersheds and support sustainable uses of watersheds. Coordination of activities under the Framework will take place at three levels: at the state level by the Statewide Steering Committee; at the local level by local watershed task forces; and at the regional level by river basin teams, which serve as intermediaries between the state and local groups.

What does this mean to water suppliers?

• Monitoring
  An interagency workgroup is coordinating monitoring efforts as a part of the watershed initiative in order to better utilize limited monitoring capabilities. Jointly prepared monitoring plans provide better agency coordination and better information. Raw water data from water suppliers could provide information on the condition of the watershed and the water supply.  (Contact your Basin Coordinator)
• Prioritization
  Watersheds are prioritized based upon observed conditions from monitoring and inventories, predicted conditions and geographic information systems (GIS).  Priority watersheds receive extra attention through targeting of programmatic resources and funding. Local area task forces are convened in priority watersheds to prepare action plans to solve the environmental problems. For watersheds whose major concern is a water supply problem, the water supply planning council could serve as the lead organization or local area task force.
• County water supply planning process
  All counties or groups of counties are required to convene water supply management council and update comprehensive water supply plans every five years. Existing plans include an analysis of the adequacy of the water supply for the next 20 years, watershed delineation, inventory of contaminant sources, susceptibility analysis, and protection and contingency plans. 
• Wellhead protection program
  Public water supply systems that use groundwater as their supply are required, as a part of their water supply planning process, to delineate and assess the groundwater recharge area. Protection plans for groundwater supplies are incorporated in the county water supply plans.
• Safe Drinking Water Act
  The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) reauthorization of 1996 includes several provisions that will benefit watersheds and water suppliers.
  • Funding
    The SDWA appropriated $12.5 million for a state revolving loan fund (SRF) to assist suppliers with drinking water infrastructure and treatment needs, capacity development, and assessment and delineation of water supply areas.
  • Assessment and delineation
    Delineation of a water supply area, watershed or wellhead area, involves outlining the area of land that contributes to the groundwater or surface water recharge area. Within the boundaries of this recharge area a contaminant inventory is required to determine potential threats to the water system. This assessment of threats must lead to protection and contingency plans.
  • Monitoring waivers
    Water systems serving fewer than 10,000 people, that demonstrate contaminants are not detected (not including disinfectants or microbes), may qualify for a monitoring waiver. This waiver can result in considerable cost savings to the water system.
  • Protection
    Strategies for protecting a water supply area will depend upon local conditions, cost-benefit analyses, feasibility and other factors. Options at the local level may include land acquisition or easements, stormwater best management practices, zoning and other measures. State and federal agencies can provide information, technical assistance, loans, grants and enforcement.