Watershed Planning Information
Good planning depends on good
information. Successful planning
processes include steps to gathering and assess information, as well as
ensuring access to experts and other advisers.
Watershed Inventories
While it is not possible to
identify all the information that a given planning process will require, one
useful information resource for watershed planning is a “watershed
inventory”. Watershed inventories
provide information on the physical, chemical and biological features and
processes that affect water and its movement is an essential first step in
developing a watershed plan. This type
of information is necessary for an understanding of the watershed the planning
process is intended to manage.
A watershed inventory brings
together information about various aspects of the watershed into one
place:
·
Physical features and landforms - Watershed planners
need to understand bedrock and surface
geology. The nature of the underlying rock determines the character of the
overlying soils and influences water movement through the drainage of soils.
The chemical properties of the rock are important through processes of rock
weathering, in which water flowing over the rock is affected by the chemistry
of the rock. Check the Geologic Survey of Canada for more information.
·
Climate - Climate, including temperature, wind force
and direction, and precipitation influences water resources and biological
processes in a watershed. All water in
a watershed comes from precipitation. Rainfall measures tries to collect
information about the duration of a rainfall event, as well as its intensity,
or rate. Wind conditions may affect
land and water processes, particularly evapotranspiration
and wind erosion. Environment
Canada’s Weather Office may be a good place to start looking for
information.
·
Soils, Infiltration, and Runoff – The ability of soil
to transport water depends on the size and condition of channels through the
porous medium. These factors depend on the size of soil particles, the degree
to which individual soil particles are aggregated into larger masses, and the
arrangement of individual particles and aggregates..
·
Streamflow - Streamflow is the rate of flow of water
and is expressed in units of volume per unit time (e.g., m3/second).
·
Groundwater - Groundwater is the water that has passed
through the land surfaces into underlying rocks and soils. Groundwater may be a source of surface water
or may be fed by surface water. In
addition, it may be an important source for human water use, through
wells. An “aquifer” is an underground
geological area which collects groundwater.
Aquifers and groundwater flows can be measured in a variety of
ways.
·
Water Quality - Almost all water users are affected by
the quality of water. Mineral deposits in the watershed, drainage
characteristics of the soil, physical processes (e.g., erosion), and biological
processes influence water quality, as does human use of the water. Acceptable water quality levels are dictated
by the use for the water. Water quality
is measured in a variety of ways, which may include measuring the physical or
chemical features of the water or determining whether biologically organisms
that can cause health problems are present.
·
Plant and Animal Species – An inventory should
determine the number and types of plant and animal species present in a
watershed area, estimate the number of individuals of each species, and
investigate the interrelationship between the species and their
environment. An inventory can also
identify species which are endangered or threatened.
·
Land Use – The term land
use implies existing and potential use by humans. Human use may change the landscape through resource extraction,
housing, transportation and other means, resulting in changes to the features
of the watershed. In addition, desired
uses of the watershed may help a community to determine what values it wants to
protect through watershed planning.
When compiling a current land use inventory, check with your local and
regional government planning and zoning departments, topographic or road maps,
agricultural extension professionals, and satellite or high altitude aerial
photography from local libraries and universities.
·
Social and Economic Systems - Social economic systems
are the human systems or infrastructure that overlay the natural and built environment.
These systems affect people’s attitudes and goals and the community support
that is central to the implementation of watershed management.
All of these types of
information can, and should, help inform watershed planning.
Experts
While it is sometimes possible
to get a subjective sense of some of the above features, measuring and
documenting the features of watershed in a way that is credible and will sway
planners can be difficult.
In some cases you may be able
to enlist volunteers with the expertise to do some of the leg-work. In other cases, experts may be willing to
work at a discounted rate or stake-holders with deep pockets will agree to pay
for the development of a watershed inventory or other information
gathering.
Local residents or aboriginal
peoples may have their own knowledge about the features of the watershed. This knowledge can be documented and used in
developing a watershed inventory.
There is no easy answer about
how to assemble the information that you need.
Some ideas about finding and using experts can be found on the Guide’s
page on Information Gathering.
Related Guide Pages:
·
Watershed Planning
·
Successful Planning
·
Information Gathering
For more information about Watershed Planning
Information:
·
Environment Canada
Weather Office web-site.
·
Geologic
Survey of Canada web-site.
·
Base Mapping
and Geomatic Services Branch, Ministry of Sustainable Resource
Management. In particular, the Branch’s
links page
provides information links on a wide range of subjects.
·
Heathcote, I. 1998. Integrated Watershed Management:
Principles and Practices. John Wiley and Sons, Inc., ISBN 0-471-18338-5.
·
Novotny, V., and H. Olem. 1994. Water Quality:
Prevention, Identification, and Management of Diffuse Pollution. New York:
Van Nostrand Reinhold.
·
Viessman, W., Jr., and G.L. Lewis. 1996. Introduction
to Hydrology. 4th Ed. New York: Harper Collins College
Publishers.
