Coordinated Watershed Protection Planning in Southeast and South Central Texas
The Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) has initiated a new program titled: Coordinated Watershed Protection Planning to provide guidance and technical assistance to local stakeholder groups in developing and implementing Watershed Protection Plans. The Coordinated Watershed Protection Planning is starting out in Southeast and South Central Texas, including 47 counties in the TSSWCB Wharton Region.
Stakeholders are initially involved at two levels. The first level is a Regional Watershed Coordination Steering Committee (WCSC). The Committee is composed of water quality monitoring and improvement partners from across the service area including other state agencies, federal agencies, river authorities, national estuary programs, and councils of governments. This WCSC is tasked with steering the project toward achievement of successful Watershed Protection Plan implementation by providing guidance and direction to the Regional Watershed Coordinator, most significantly by identifying those watersheds most in need of coordinated watershed protection planning.
Second, after the WCSC directs the Regional Watershed Coordinator to a specific watershed, a stakeholder group composed of individuals with a vested interest in water quality in that watershed will be formed. This local watershed action committee will develop a Watershed Protection Plan for their watershed with technical assistance from the Regional Watershed Coordinator.
