Information and Technical Assistance Providers
Clean Water Network
An alliance of over 1,200 organizations that endorse the National Agenda for Clean Water. which outlines the need for strong clean water safeguards in order to protect public health and the environment.
EPA Urban Watershed Management Branch
Researches, develops, and demonstrates technologies, systems, and methods required to manage the risks to public health, property, and the environment from wet weather flows and to renew decaying urban infrastructure. Offers a variety of technical tools and resources.
Kansas Rural Center
Non-profit organization that promotes the long term health of the land and its people through research, education, and advocacy. Cultivates support for public policies that encourage family farming and stewardship of soil and water.
KDHE Stormwater Program
Provides information for communities and construction sites regulated under Phases I and II of the NPDES stormwater management regulations.
Smart Growth America
A nationwide coalition promoting a better way to grow; one that protects farmland and open space, revitalizes neighborhoods, keeps housing affordable, and makes communities more livable.
Stormwater Manager's Resource Center
Designed specifically for stormwater practitioners, local government officials, and others that need technical assistance on stormwater management issues.
USGS Drinking Water Programs
Lists drinking-water related USGS projects in all states and territories, including source-water assessment projects in 27 states. Also lists on-line publications, and an on-line guide to source-water assessment.
Water Quality Information Center
Provides electronic access to a broad range of information on water quality and agriculture.
Watershed Management Council
A non-profit educational organization dedicated to the advancement of the art and science of watershed management.
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Ahwahnee Principles for Smart Economic Development: An Implementation Guidebook
Helps communities implement a comprehensive set of principles for building prosperous and livable places.
Best Nonpoint Source Documents
Highlights some of the best nonpoint source materials for both professionals and the public. Includes resources from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and others.
Community Involvement in Drinking Water Source Assessments
A fact sheet that explains the four steps of source water assessments; how communities can participate in the assessment process; and how communities can utilize assessment information for source water protection.
Compendium of Tools for Watershed Assessment and TMDL Development
Discusses three major categories of models: watershed loading, receiving water, and ecological. Watershed loading models simulate the generation and movement of pollutants from the source to discharge into receiving waters. Receiving water models simulate the movement and transformation of pollutants through lakes, streams, and rivers. Ecological models simulate plant and animal communities and their response to pollutants and habitat modification.
Daylighting: New Life for Buried Streams
Describes how local governments across the country have benefited from "daylighting" streams – deliberately restoring rivers, creeks, or stormwater drainages that are covered by culverts or pipes to the open air. Demonstrates the range of daylighting projects that have been completed; illustrates how some projects have been designed, facilitated, and funded; and identifies some of the challenges encountered and lessons learned.
Drinking Water from Forests and Grasslands: A Synthesis of the Scientific Literature
Examines how uses of forests and grasslands impact watersheds and water quality, measuring effects of recreation and the built environment; vegetation management; grazing animals, birds, and fish; and mining and oil and gas development.
Drinking Water and Wastewater Handbook for Local Officials
This handbook will help local officials understand legal and technical requirements for treatment, storage, and distribution of drinking water and collection, treatment, and discharge of wastewater.
From Assessment to Action: Protecting Small Town and Rural County Public Water Sources
This report assists small town and rural county decision-makers to understand the potential threats to their drinking water and to use new resources and funding to protect them.
Grappling with Growth: What to Do When You Want a Strong Economy and a Great Place to Live
Discusses four Smart Growth strategies — designing expansion correctly, ensuring that expansion pays its way, restricting expansion, and building affordable housing — and suggests that these are incomplete unless linked to efforts to build the local economy through Natural Capitalism.
Guiding Principles for Constructed Treatment Wetlands: Providing Water Quality and Wildlife Habitat
Includes guiding principles for siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance, and monitoring of constructed treatment wetlands. Also includes information about EPA policies, permits, regulations, and resources.
Internet Watershed Educational Tool
Provides a technical and multi-perspective response to local watershed issues intended to help educate local officials and other concerned citizens about water resources.
Low-Impact Development Design Strategies: An Integrated Design Approach
Describes a radically different approach to conventional stormwater management that combines a hydrologically functional site design with pollution prevention measures to compensate for land development impacts on hydrology and water quality.
Low Impact Development Literature Review and Fact Sheets
A summary of the information available regarding the pollutant removal effectiveness of the most common Low Impact Development (LID) practices. Also includes four fact sheets that describing local projects where LID practices were used.
National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture
Contains information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface and ground water from agriculture.
National Management Measures to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution from Marinas and Recreational Boating
Provides information on the best available, economically achievable means of reducing pollution of surface water runoff from marinas and recreational boating.
Protecting Drinking Water - County Partnerships That Work
Profiles of counties working through watershed protection partnerships and agreements to protect their drinking water.
Rapid Bioassessment Protocols: An Introduction
Reviews methods for assessing the health of streams and watersheds based on the fish, invertebrates, and plants found in streams.
Recommended Practices Manual: A Guideline for Maintenance and Service of Unpaved Roads
Describes and illustrates cost effective techniques and practices that can be used to enhance stability and maintenance of unpaved roadways while reducing sedimentation and improving the quality of surface waters.
Restoring Streams in Cities: A Guide for Planners, Policymakers, and Citizens
Offers alternatives to traditional practices that can be used both to prevent and repair ecological damage to stream.
Smart Growth Tool Kit
Provides step-by-step instructions to help communities get started and explains the strategies that have worked in other cities. Case studies help you make the case for smart growth by providing concrete examples of successful projects. Also includes a resource guide, program agendas, and a smart growth presentation.
Source Water Protection - A Guidebook for Local Governments
Provides local officials with background information on the importance of source water protection, recognizing major pollution sources to drinking water, source water assessment requirements and source water protection expectations under the Safe Drinking Water Act, and how to prevent or minimize threats to water supplies.
Street Storage System for Control of Combined Sewer Surcharge: Retrofitting Stormwater Storage Into Combined Sewer Systems
A case study approach is used to explain the concept through construction and operation aspects of street storage systems.
Sustainable Development: Prosperity Without Growth
A discussion of the pitfalls of growth and the elements of the viable alternative, sustainable development.
Toward Understanding New Watershed Initiatives
Discusses characteristics and concepts of watershed partnerships, elements for evaluating such partnerships, factors that influence their success, and lessons learned from past and current partnerships.
Urbanization and Streams: Studies of Hydrologic Impacts
Contains summaries and analyses of reports and case studies intended to provide documentation of problems and sources, as well as a foundation for further investigation.
Visual Tools for Watershed Education
Focuses on how visual tools such as maps, graphics, models, and stories can help leaders, teachers, and the media communicate meaningfully on the concept of watersheds.
Watershed Ecological Risk Assessment Case Studies
Watershed Success Stories: Applying the Principles and Spirit of the Clean Water Action Plan
The thirty success stories presented in this report demonstrate how coordinating efforts of federal, state, and local partners can lead to innovative restoration solutions to address a wide variety of water quality problems. (EPA Publication #800R00003)
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Growing Greener Ordinance Language: Visually Enhanced Zoning and Subdivision Models
An interactive CD-ROM that provides an enhanced, visually interactive version of the model zoning and subdivision ordinances that appear in an appendix to the book "Growing Greener: Putting Conservation into Local Plans and Ordinances" by Randall Arendt (see Publications section for more information). Included are more than 50 commentary images and short video clips that illustrate the model ordinances and help explain and clarify the available options. Also included are text files that users can copy and, working with local land-use attorneys, adapt to fit local conditions in their communities.
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Miscellaneous Tools and Resources
Agricultural Management Practices for Water Quality Protection
This web-based training module introduces eight basic types of agricultural practices that are suitable for reducing or minimizing water quality impacts, as part of an overall watershed approach.
Compendium of Tools for Watershed Assessment and TMDL Development
Discusses three major categories of models: watershed loading, receiving water, and ecological. Watershed loading models simulate the generation and movement of pollutants from the source to discharge into receiving waters. Receiving water models simulate the movement and transformation of pollutants through lakes, streams, and rivers. Ecological models simulate plant and animal communities and their response to pollutants and habitat modification.
Critical Thinking for Sustainable Community Decision-Making: A Community Leadership Tool
A simple scoring system for use in facilitated group decision-making.
Introduction to Watershed Planning
A web-based training module that introduces a flexible framework for watershed planning and points out key factors that help make planning successful.
Source Water Awareness Media Tool Kit
Designed to help raise community awareness about drinking water protection issues. Includes guidelines and sample promotional materials to help local communities launch a successful media campaign.
Wetland Functions and Values
This web-based training module reviews the extraordinary contributions that wetlands make to our water quality, economy, recreation, environmental health, and other areas.
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