Create Watershed Management Plans for South Carolina to Enhance Mitigation
Focus Area
Water Quality/Wetlands
Subcommittee
Natural Resources
Status
Archived
Cost
$250k-$499k
Timeframe
2-3 years
Research Idea Scope
From USC forecast model, take high priority watersheds and create watershed management plans. The management plans will assess watershed condition, threats and opportunities. Develop improvements, restorations, and protections for water quality and habitat. Educate mitigation community about threats and conservation directives for the watershed. This will assist in the mitigation community’s efforts to institute a watershed approach as directed by the “’08 rule”. The DHEC watershed assessments will be reviewed and utilized to assist in management plan drafting. DHEC will be engaged in the process to ensure watershed assessments and management plans reflect identical watershed conditions, with the management plans addressing the impairments listed in the watershed assessments.
Urgency and Payoff
We have water quality assessments for the state, but no plans for offsetting potential impacts in the watershed, or any plans for how to reduce impairment within the watershed. The mitigation community will be able to utilize these management plans to implement a watershed approach when compiling mitigation solutions. Having a plan in place for a watershed will put all efforts for restoration, enhancement and preservation on the same path. The understanding of impairments and ideal efforts to reduce those impairments will be uniform throughout the watershed and will lead to higher environmental improvement overall.
Submitted
06/10/2014