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Watershed Restoration Action Strategies (17 Basins)

Indiana Department of Environmental Management

WHPA developed seventeen Watershed Restoration Action Strategies (WRAS) for the Indiana Department Environmental Management (IDEM). Watershed Restoration Action Strategies are used allocate federal funds for improvement of targeted watersheds. A WRAS serves as a reference document for watershed groups and others involved in the assessment and planning of watershed restoration.

WRAS documents are built on existing programs and initiatives, as well as the programs of the Watershed Management Section, which administers the Nonpoint Source (NPS) program. The WRAS contains a detailed description of the watershed and a discussion on the causes and sources of water pollution. It also covers strategies based on State and Federal water quality programs aimed reducing NPS pollution and the establishment of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) limits in the watershed.

Stakeholder involvement is key to a successful WRAS, so WHPA encouraged local participation in the watershed planning and held local watershed meetings in communities throughout the state. WHPA developed the WRAS documents using web-based tools so that IDEM Watershed Management Section staff could monitor progress, make suggestions and approve development in real time. This also provided the general public with direct access to the draft documents as they became available for comment.

To view more information on this project, please view this PDF summary:

http://www.in.gov/idem/water/planbr/wsm/05080003part1.pdf

Project Reference:

Martha Clark, Section Chief • Office of Water Quality • Watershed Mgnt. Section
100 North Senate Ave. • Indianapolis, IN 46206 • (317) 233-8803 • mclark@dem.state.in.us