VIII. Watershed Protection - A comprehensive management approach

Objectives - students should: n Justify the necessity for watershed management. n General approaches for point-source pollution reduction and non-point source pollution reduction

Necessity n Part of multi-barrier approach for drinking water quality control n Part of protection of our nation water in order to achieve “fishable and swimmable” as delineated by Clean Water Act.

n What are some point sources of contaminations? –Sewerage?, Septic tanks? –Industrial wastewater discharges? –Wastewaters from agriculture originate from farm buildings, animal feedlots, storage of manure and silage, etc –Combined sewer overflow? –Any other routes of pollution? Identify all sources of contamination

n What are some non-point sources of contaminations? –Urban stormwater runoff ? –Agriculture runoff ? –Land disposal of wastes ? –Mine pollution? –construction pollution?

How to Approach Point-Source Pollution Problems? n Pollution Prevention F Don’t produce waste F Reduce amount of waste F Reuse F Recycle n Appropriate treatment of wastewater to achieve not only –technology-based standard, but also –water-quality based standard

n Pollution Prevention (agriculture runoff) –Analyze soil in different fields for its content of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium –Apply fertilizer nutrients several times F young, small plants need less nutrients F established crops need more nutrients F problems? How to Approach Non-Point Source Pollution Problems?

n Best Management Practices –Site-specific –Creativity Example: Boat repair yards F isolate working areas and channel the wastewater to sewer lines F engine repair related job should be done inside rather than outside F etc. n Public Education and Participation How to Approach Non-Point Source Pollution Problems?

Summary: n Watershed Protection is essential for protection of public health and ecological integrity of nation’s water. n Watershed protection needs to be a comprehensive management approach that address both point source and non- point source pollution.