Tools and Resources for Watershed Planning and Improvement

Planning helps prioritize impaired waters and watersheds on a federal and state level. These plans have strategies and goals to protect watersheds. 

• Guidelines for Developing a Source Water Protection Plan - PUB2950: Learn how to develop a plan that satisfies the department’s minimum requirements for an effective source water or wellhead protection plan.
• Section 319 Watershed Based Planning: Learn about the minimum requirements for Section 319 subgrant funded planning projects.
• Resources for Watershed Planning - EPA: Links to a number of EPA and external resources for organizations involved in watershed protection and restoration, including:
  • Reference Guide for Watershed Plants to Restore and Protect Our Waters: Technical tools and sources of information for developing watershed-based plans to restore and protect water quality
  • Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters: Handbook for developing watershed based plan that will be acceptable to EPA (a must for Section 319 funding), meet water quality standards and protect water resources.
  • Critical Source Area Identification and BMP Selection: A supplement to EPA’s Watershed Planning Handbook, it is intended to help watershed managers better target their restoration efforts where they matter most: critical source areas.
  • Nutrient and Sediment Estimation Tools for Watershed Protection: An update to the model information in the watershed planning guide. 
  • A Quick Guide to Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters
• International Stormwater BMP Database: A partnership between EPA and other public, private and nonprofit groups, this database is a repository of best management practice (BMP) field studies and related web tools, performance summaries and monitoring guidance.
• Urban and Agricultural BMP Mode of Action and Pollutants Addressed Chart: Guidance for selecting BMPs based on the pollutants addressed and the BMP's mode of action. BMPs prescribed in a watershed based plan must specifically address the watershed’s impairment pollutant(s).

Note: EPA's Nonpoint Source Program and Grants Guidelines for States and Territories allows for alternatives to nine-element watershed based plans under specific conditions, if they adequately meet guidance requirements and are approved by EPA.

Watershed boundaries are marked by landscape features that divide the direction of surface water flow, such as hills and ridge lines. In order to identify and organize our watersheds, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) divided and sub-divided our nation into successively smaller hydrologic units. Each unit is assigned a unique hydrologic unit code (HUC) consisting of two to twelve digits, based on the classification level in the hydrologic unit system

• Locate Your Stream Site by 12-digit HUC - USGS: An interactive map that can be used to locate your 2-digit region, 4-digit subregion, 6-digit basin, 8-digit subbasin, 10-digit watershed and 12-digit subwatershed. It also provides basic information about the unit and a link to additional watershed information from your subwatershed.
• How’s My Waterway - EPA: An online database that provides information about the condition of your local waters based on data that states, federal, tribal, local agencies and others have provided to EPA.

Watershed modeling is a useful way to help determine what areas of a watershed are most in need of best management practice (BMP) implementation to address, and which BMPs would be most effective. The modeling application chosen will depend on the needs of the project. If Section 319 funding is being used for watershed planning or implementation, watershed modeling will most likely be needed to calculate pollutant load reductions.

• Model My Watershed - Stroud Water Research Center: An online system used to map and model your watershed using tools to analyze land use, soil data, stormwater runoff and water quality impacts and impacts of different conservation or development scenarios.
• Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) - Texas A&M University: SWAT is a commonly used model developed to quantify the impact of land management practices in complex watersheds. SWAT is a public domain software enabled model supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service.
• Pollutant Load Estimation Tool (PLET) - EPA: Uses simple algorithms to calculate nutrient and sediment loads from different land uses and the load reductions that would result from implementing various BMPs.
• Escaped Trash Assessment Protocol (ETAP) - EPA: A quantitative survey tool which provides a standard method for collecting and assessing litter data.

Knowing and measuring the quality of water can be challenging. In order to be able to address problems in a watershed, you need good information about the status of the water resources, potential and actual threats, options for addressing the threats and data on how effective management actions have been. 

• Section 305(b) Integrated Water Quality Report: Missouri's report summarizing water quality issues and the status of Missouri's waters
• Impaired Waters: Learn about how the department identifies waters not meeting Missouri's water quality standards. Includes a link to Missouri's 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies.
• Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs): Learn how the department calculates the maximum amount of a specific pollutant that a water body can absorb and still meet water quality standards.
• Impaired Waters and Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDL) Viewer: An online interactive map that shows locational data for Missouri's impaired water bodies or lakes. Includes links to approved TMDL documents and implementation plans to identify how pollutant loads will be reduced to a level that will protect water quality. 
• Water Data and e-Services: Includes links to online sources of water quality data on the department's website, as well as other organizations.
• Who’s Monitoring Your Watershed?: Interactive map showing Missouri Stream Team Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring sites and associated data. Data can be requested from department staff.
• Science in Your Watershed - USGS: These "Information Discovery" pages are designed to help you find links to research, planning, management and development activities at the watershed level.
• How’s My Waterway - EPA: An online application that provides information about the condition of your local waters based on data that states, federal, tribal, local agencies and others have provided to EPA.
• Healthy Watersheds Protection - EPA: Find watersheds data, integrated assessments, indexes, reports and references
• WATERS (Watershed Assessment, Tracking & Environmental Results System) - EPA: A database system that unites water quality information from several independent and unconnected databases. Access comprehensive information about the quality of the nation's surface water, including: designated use(s) of a waterbody, water quality monitoring results, water quality assessments, causes and sources of impaired waters and discharge locations.
• International Stormwater BMP Database: A partnership between EPA and other public, private and nonprofit groups, this database is a repository of best management practice (BMP) field studies and related web tools, performance summaries and monitoring guidance.

In order to ensure high quality data collection and analysis outcomes, both watershed based planning and implementation projects require a quality assurance project plan (QAPP) for any environmental data collection activities (e.g. water quality monitoring), use of secondary data, and watershed or water quality modeling. Since QAPPs must be approved by the department, they must follow departmental and EPA guidance and requirements.

• EPA Quality Management Tools for Projects: Information, resources and training regarding QAPPs.
• EPA Requirements for Quality Assurance Project Plans (QA/R-5): Defines specifications for QAPPs prepared for activities funded by EPA.
• Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans, EPA QA/G-5: EPA’s guidance to organizations developing QAPPs that address the specifications listed in EPA Requirements for QA Project Plans (QA/R-5).
• Guidance for Quality Assurance Project Plans for Modeling (G-5M): EPA’s guidance on developing QAPPs for modeling projects.
• Managing the Quality of Environmental Data at EPA Region 7: Quality assurance resources from EPA Region 7.
• Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) Guidance for Missouri’s Section 319 Nonpoint Source Projects: QAPP overview for Section 319 NPS projects planning environmental data collection activities. Based on EPA requirements, this document discusses the various Section 319 Nonpoint Source project QAPP levels and the QAPP elements that must be addressed per level.
• Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Water Quality Monitoring: A template for environmental data collection QAPP development for Section 319 Nonpoint Source Projects

Watershed groups need to develop and implement an effective watershed outreach plan to help address public perceptions, promote management activities and inform or motivate stakeholders.

• Nonpoint Source (NPS) Outreach Toolbox - EPA: Resources to help develop an effective and targeted outreach campaign
• Getting in Step: A Guide to Effective Outreach in Your Watershed - EPA: Resource for how to maximize the effectiveness of public outreach campaigns
• Getting Your Feet Wet with Social Marketing - Utah Dept. of Agriculture and Food: A social marketing guide for watershed programs
• Water Topics - EPA: Explore a variety of water quality topics
• Watershed Academy - EPA: Online training in watershed management
• Missouri Watershed Champion Video Series - Stream Teams United: A video series highlighting people in Missouri who are taking positive actions on the land to benefit the quality of downstream waters.