Environmental Progress - Summer 1996

Local Involvement Stressed in Major New Watershed Program

Emphasis now looks at entire watersheds, and seeks more input from those most affected.

A new initiative to streamline protection and/or restoration efforts within each of the state's 33 major watersheds has been developed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Merging efforts to protect drinking water and control water pollution throughout the whole watershed, it relies heavily on local involvement in decision making.

Traditional approaches to water quality programs have used a 'command and control' regulatory method that evaluated possible contaminants and their sources individually. Concentrating primarily on chemical effects and human health impacts, evaluation efforts under this approach were limited to specific artificial political boundaries.

Most watersheds, however, face an array of related concerns rather than a single problem, so the Watershed Management Program instead will take a common sense, holistic approach to the entire watershed, looking at the whole range of point and nonpoint source pollution problems that may affect it.

The managed watershed approach will encourage involved local groups to work in partnership with state agencies, in a non-regulatory framework, to identify and respond to cumulative physical and biological effects within natural watershed boundaries. Initial emphasis will be on "targeted watersheds," those areas with the most critical water quality problems, the highest potential for improvement or where current high quality water resources are at risk.

To enlist effective citizen participation, a series of public meetings has been begun around the state to allow input by local citizens into the development of a general watershed planning model. Where local citizen groups already exist to address water quality issues, the Agency will provide technical assistance to help them develop site-specific management practices and identify possible funding options. In areas where such groups do not presently exist, the public meetings will bring together interested citizens to outline involvement possibilities and explain the advantages of local leadership in developing effective watershed plans.

These meetings will be the first step in enrolling local participation. To encourage maximum local involvement, they will be publicized well in advance and will offer evening sessions to permit maximum participation.

The Illinois EPA has prepared a document, Mobilizing the Watershed Community, that spells out the need for beneficial management to protect drinking water and preserve water resources for recreational and habitat use. Copies can be obtained from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control Planning Section, 2200 Churchill Rd., Springfield, Ill. 62794-9276, 217-782-3362.

The Agency has also created a series of 33 fact sheets, one for each river watershed in the state. Copies of these can be obtained by contacting the Planning Section at the above address, specifying the watershed of interest.