us army corps of engineers building strong ® watershed planning initiatives ohio river basin...
TRANSCRIPT
US Army Corps of Engineers
BUILDING STRONG®
Watershed Planning InitiativesOhio River Basin Comprehensive Study
R. Gus Drum
Community Planner/Landscape Architect
USACE - LRH
“If anything is certain, it is that change is certain. The world we are planning for today will not exist in this form tomorrow” Philip Crosby
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Driving Forces of Change in Water Resources Planning
Regional, more damaging events…..1993 Mississippi River, 2005 Katrina/Rita, 2008 Gustav/Ike, 2008 Midwest – losses of life, property damages.
Regional coastal/ecosystem deterioration issues – Everglades, Louisiana Coastal wetlands, Mississippi barrier Islands.
Increased concern for “systems integrity”…….New Orleans
System sustainability issues – Dam Safety Program & Levee Safety Act
Public safety concerns arose out of past infrastructure failures.
Concern over future climate changes – sea level rise, temperature, precipitation, storm intensity, evaporation rates and affects on water supply, flash flooding, stormwater issues, droughts, etc.
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The Winds of Change
“We need to move to a watershed approach as it applies to water resources projects so that each of our projects fits into the context of a regional plan.” LTG Flowers (2002)
The institution of collaborative planning (EC1105-2-409)
Concerns about system sustainability and application of the “Environmental Operating Principles” - an “Environment” that is integrated, regional and apolitical.
USACE’s “12 Actions for Change”…….comprehensive systems approach.
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Basin and Watershed Water Resources Planning
1983 Principles & Guidelines – watershed approach 1999 Policy Guidance Letter #61 – Application of the Watershed
Approach in Corps Civil Works Planning Section 202 of WRDA 2000 amending Section 729 of WRDA 1986 –
“authorizes” Watershed and River Basin Assessments April 2000……ER1105-2-100 – Civil Works Planning Manual January 2009…EC1105-2-411 – Watershed Planning Circular
► Initial Watershed Assessment ($100K Federal)► Watershed Assessment (75%-25%)
Other federal agencies’ watershed assessment and management methodologies (EPA, NRCS (RWA), ARC, TVA, etc.)
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Watershed Jargon
USGS established Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC) system Hydro-geographic units for watershed planning purposes
► Basin – HUC 2 level (national scale)► Sub-basin – HUC 4’s directly intersecting major rivers such as the
Kanawha River sub-basin intersecting the Ohio River at Pt. Pleasant, WV
► Watershed – HUC areas 6 through 8► Sub-watershed – HUC areas greater than 8► Catchment – drainage area of first order streams (headwaters of the
stream)
Useful system when defining scope of watershed planning.
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Watershed Planning Assessments Watershed Assessment Factors:
► Demographics – population growth, employment ► Public and private development & infrastructure systems► Transportation system (highway, railway, inland navigation, terminals) ► Changes in land cover types and distribution over time► Hydrology (watershed size, floodplain zones, discharges, stormwater,
channel blockages, etc.)► Water quality (CSO’s, AMD, sedimentation, pharmaceuticals, TMDL’s,
non-point pollution, etc.) ► Terrain analysis – future development potential► Changes in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems► Changes in vegetation types and coverage► Geology and soils (mining, erosion, cultivation)► Historic and archeological resources► Land use controls► Affects of anticipated climate change
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Recent Watershed Planning
West Virginia Statewide Flood Protection Plan (2002)
► 15.5 million acres of rugged terrain.► 32 HUC 8 watersheds in the state.► Approximately 32,000 miles of
streams.► Flood control structures by Corps and
NRCS.► Water resources and flooding issues
across the state. Numerous Federal Disaster Declarations in the state.
► Plan included statewide strategies and recommendations addressing Federal, state and local initiatives for reducing flood damages.
► Many recommendations already enacted.
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5 Ohio Counties Watershed Assessment for ARC
•ARC emphasis on 5 counties using a watershed approach by LRH District.
•Watersheds and their problems extended far beyond the political boundaries of the individual counties.
•Some water resources solutions are beyond the control of the 5 counties.
•A classic example of geo-political versus watershed approach – agency mission defined by political boundaries not watersheds.
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Basin Statistics and Resources Geography and demographics
► 204,000 square miles (130.5 million acres)► 15 states, 548 counties and over 2,600 municipal areas► 152 HUC 8 watersheds, 15 sub-basins (HUC 4)► More than 26 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA’s)► Approximately 25 million people► Over 5 million people using Ohio River as primary drinking water source► Ohio River contributes 60% of the flow in the Mississippi River
Resources► Rich in water, coal, gas, timber, agricultural production, etc.► Rich in ecosystem resources (T&E mussels, fish, plants, etc.)► 83 Corps reservoirs, 75 TVA reservoirs and 1,000+ NRCS dams► Over 100 local protection projects (levees, floodwalls, channels, etc.)► Ohio River Basin navigation system – commodity flows and employment
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Basin Issues(Over 200 responses and counting)
Issues collected from USACE, stakeholders & public► Aging infrastructure – levees, floodwalls, reservoirs, etc.► Over 1,000 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSO’s) on Ohio River.► Impaired streams throughout the region.► Water quality - AMD, sedimentation, bacteria, chemicals
pharmaceuticals. ► Flooding and stormwater management.► Habitat losses, reservoir releases, wetlands development.► Public lands management and recreation.► Climate change affects on water resources management.► Stream gaging O&M costs and sustainability.► Invasive species► Potential for out-of-basin water transfers
Ohio River Basin study web site: www.orboutreach.com
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Macro-scale Basin Analysis - GIS
•Data collection is at the HUC 8 watershed level rolled up into HUC 4 sub-basins and basin (HUC 2) level of analyses.
•Land cover, location quotients, population, at-risk structures, flood insurance coverage, resources, climate, ecosystems, T&E species, flooding, etc.
•FEMA, NRCS, USGS, USACE, NOAA, HAZUS, USFWS, etc.
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Ohio River Basin AnalysisAlternatives Formulation
•Using Federal, state and local GIS databases & thematic map layering to uncover land use relationships and describe changes over time as basis for alternatives formulation.
•Using data from HAZUS and 100+ LPP footprints we are deriving protected assets within LPP line of protection – people, structures, critical facilities, a first.
•GIS data will be published as an Ohio River Basin atlas for public use.
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Watershed Planning Initiatives?
Basinwide water management plan Numerous sub-basin & watershed assessments – state,
watershed associations, regional agency partners. Reservoir storage reallocation studies – optimization of
storage benefits (78 multi-purpose reservoirs). Ongoing Dam Safety and Levee Safety initiatives Sub-basin and watershed scale ecosystem restoration
with USFWS, DNR’s & TNC Local jurisdiction initiatives – stormwater management,
land use zoning, NFIP, building codes, TDR/PDR, etc.