Watonwan Watershed Implementation Grant - 2023 - 2026

The Watonwan River Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan identifies priority concerns, short-term and long-term goals for surface waters, groundwater, habitat and recreation, local knowledge and land stewardship. Through the plan, specific details for structural and management practices are described in the implementation profile for each of the six planning regions, which include North Fork, Upper Watonwan, Saint James Creek, South Fork, Perch Creek and Lower Watonwan. PTMApp was used to prioritize and target possible projects for each planning region and was designed to select the most cost-effective structural and management projects for removing sediment, TP, and TN. The highest priority for implementation efforts are aimed at restoring impaired stream reaches and lakes as identified in the Watonwan River Watershed WRAPS report.
Projects will be prioritized through a scoring and ranking worksheet developed by the Watonwan Steering Team and approved by the GBERBA Policy Board.
Existing and contract staff will work with urban and agricultural landowners to encourage the installation of BMPs on the landscape focusing on our goals and actions as set forth in the plan. Additional efforts will be made to educate watershed residents on priority concerns including surface water, groundwater, habitat and recreation, public awareness and land stewardship.
The second implementation grant estimates completion of 25 ag practices, 10 non-structural, 5 streambank/shoreland, 10 well decommissioning, 1 wetland restoration, 20 subsurface sewage treatment systems, 3 urban forestry projects and 5 urban best management practices. Other focuses are multipurpose drainage management studies with local drainage authorities, comprehensive site visits through MAWQCP, and multiple outreach efforts in the watershed.