What is a Watershed Management Plan?

A Watershed Management Plan (WMP) is a long-term strategy to protecting a geographic region by identifying problems with water quality, their causes, and solutions.  Each plan is tailored to the unique characteristics and challenges in its region to address nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source pollution doesn’t come from a single pipe or source, but from all over, like stormwater runoff, failing septic systems, or land use practices.

A WMP is created with local community input, scientific research, and robust data. It provides a framework for solving the community’s concerns about their local water bodies. Concerns range from issues like streambank erosion, sedimentation, algal blooms, poor aquatic habitats, and more. WMPs are usually guided by recommendations from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but they are voluntary and non-regulatory plans. They can help open the door to funding opportunities to implement the plan’s practices. WMPs provide targeted, proven management practices that improve water quality, reduce pollution, and benefit communities.

What are the goals of a watershed management plan?

The specific goals of a WMP will vary, because each plan is tailored to the unique challenges and needs of its watershed. All WMPs are roadmaps for protecting water quality, so there are similar approaches for how to promote sustainable land and water practices. Some goals include:

• Identifying sources of nutrient and sediment pollution
• Recommending voluntary, proven solutions based on science and research
• Serving as a foundation for grant funding applications for water quality projects
• Helping communities, agencies, and landowners make informed decisions about future conservation work

The steps to create a watershed management plan:

The EPA has designed a nine element framework that all WMPs must meet to be accepted. Generally, the process of creating a WMP has six steps:

1. Build partnerships with local organizations and diverse communities who can voice their concerns, priorities, and goals.
2. Characterize the watershed by gathering data on land uses, water quality concerns, and sources of pollution.
3. Set goals and identify solutions based on local input and scientific research. Goals and solutions should be practical, voluntary methods that are proven to reduce pollution and protect the watershed.
4. Design an implementation program which outlines how the WMP will be carried out, from estimating costs to identifying funding sources
5. Implement the plan by putting it into action! This requires continued support from partners and the community
6. Measure progress and making adjustments over time to improve the plan

Through each of these steps, we rely on collaboration and teamwork with our local communities. Their input as stakeholders is crucial to creating a plan that benefits water quality while meeting their needs and priorities. Once we finish a WMP, we have a path with solutions that improves watershed health and the shared goals of the people who call that watershed home.

Next steps of a watershed management plan:

After we finish the plan, we share it with the public and our stakeholders for review. This is an important final step, as diverse input from the public shapes the plan into something that benefits everyone in the community. Once all stakeholder comments and suggestions are addressed, the plan is submitted to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Division (ANRD), and then on to EPA for review and comment. They will accept it if it meets their nine-element framework, which ensures it addresses water quality issues. An accepted plan can be used to apply for 319 grant funding from the Clean Water Act, and funding helps us put the plan into action. The accepted plan also becomes a powerful tool to spur discussion about public policy.

Ultimately, a watershed management plan is like an instruction manual that many people write together—it provides a step-by-step guide for how a community can protect and improve its watershed. But these plans are completely voluntary and non-regulatory. Without people and organizations to drive it forward, the plan stays on paper. That’s why we all have a role to play in a watershed management plan. See our Watershed Management Plans in action

The important role of stakeholders

Stakeholders play a vital role in the development of a watershed management plan. They bring together local knowledge, diverse perspectives, and unique concerns. They help identify real-world challenges and practical solutions. Stakeholders also help spread the word and raise public awareness about watershed issues. This builds broad support across community members and decision-makers when it’s time to implement projects from the plan. We believe our work is only as strong as the support from our communities around us, whose voices are heard to help shape the plan.

Who is a stakeholder?

Almost everyone! Stakeholders range from landowners, county or regional representatives, local municipal representatives, state and federal agencies, American Indian tribes, business and industry representatives, citizen groups, and others. That means that you can be a stakeholder too! No matter your background or expertise, your voice matters. We invite you to engage in your local region and make a difference for water quality by joining a stakeholder advisory group.