Watershed Resource Guide:
Tools for Protecting New England Watersheds
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Introduction
What is a watershed?
It is the land that water flows across or under on its way to a stream, river or lake. Rivers, lakes, estu-
aries, wetlands, streams and even the oceans can serve as catch basins for surrounding land. Watersheds
are nature's way of dividing up die landscape, a division that often fails to coincide with our political,
social, and economic boundaries.
Everyone lives in a watershed and this affects water quality.
pact on the land, water, air, plants and animals. For instance,
fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn will help reduce soil
and in turn protect the watershed.
At the EPA, we believe that many water quality, human
tern problems are best solved at the watershed level
ing and treating problems in a specific body of water.
takes the entire aquatic ecosystem into account. Stake-
ment is a key component in the success of this approach.
guide as a resource for you to discover steps you can take to
vour watershed.
lives in a
watershed.
Your actions
have an
impact.
Your actions have an im-
minimizing the use of
erosion and flooding
health and ecosys-
radier than isolat-
This approach
holder involve-
\Ye have created this
help protect and save
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How to use this guide Contents
This easy to follow guide offers the reader access to
resources in the areas of Watershed Planning and
Management, Drinking Water Protection, Volunteer
Monitoring, Controlling Non-Point Source Pollution,
Habitat, and Resources for Environmental Educators.
\\Tiether you are a city or town official, member of an
environmental or ci\"ic organization, business owner or
concerned citizen, we encourage you to learn about
your watershed, stay informed on issues that impact it,
and take action to protect and improve it.
In each category, you will find a short list of useful
documents with a brief description. Resources are
printed publications which are available on the
world wide web where noted, or by calling our toll
free customer service hotline at:
• Planning & Management
• Drinking Water Protection
• Controlling Nonpoint Source
Pollution
• Habitat
• Volunteer Monitoring
• Education
1-888-EPA-7341
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Planning & Management
• Adopt Your Watershed brochure explains EPA's national campaign, including a form for joining, and additional tools.
•Watershed Protection: A Statewide Approach focuses on state resource management programs for water quality manag-
ers around major basins.
•Watershed Protection: A Project Focus provides a blueprint for implementing watershed projects for individual watersheds,
including references and case studies.
•Selected Watershed Guides: References and Materials is a list of current newsletters, journals and manuals such as Nonpoint Source
News Notes. Watershed Events and The Volunteer Monitor, recommended by key watershed activists and agency personnel.
• Environmental Planning for Small Communities: A Guide for Local Decision Makers helps small communities manage local environ-
mental issues. It pro\ides ideas and strategies for developing and implementing a community environmental plan.
• EPA Watershed Tools Directory comprehensively describes several hundred methods, models, data sources and other approaches
that states and communities can use to improve or maintain water quality for human health and ecological purposes.
•Community-Based Environmental Protection: A Resource Book For Protecting Ecosystems and Communities identifies practical
tools and draws on the experiences of many different communities.
• People, Places and Partnerships: A Progress Report on Community-Based Environmental Protection describes how groups can
make die concept work at a local level.
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Rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands, streams and even the oceans can serve as catch basins for surrounding land. These Watersheds are nature's way of dividing up
the landscape, a division that often fails to coincide with our political, social, and economic boundaries.
Help protect and save your watershed.
Watershed Resource Guide
EPA-Region 1, New England
www.epa.gov/regionl
For more information:(l-888-EPA-734f)
Photo: K.Kiley, EPA
Downtown Providence, Rhode Island
Wbonasquatucket River Watershed
Providence Plan: 1-101-455-8880
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(Planning and Management continued)
•Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection highlights federal grants and loans that may be used at the local level.
• Community Funding Sources is a collection of fact sheets detailing EPA funding available through grants and cooperative
agreements to local governments, schools, non-profit organizations and others in New England, www.epa. gov/region 1 /eco/grants
•The Guide Book of Financial Tools covers raising revenue, borrowing capital, enhancing credit, creating public and private
partnerships, encouraging pollution prevention, and paying for community based environmental protection.
www.epa.gov/ efinpage/guidebk/ guindex.htm
• EPA's Watershed Website, wvvw.epa.gov/owow features:
Watershed Academy
National Estuary Program
Surf Your Watershed
Adopt a Watershed
•The American Heritage Rivers Services, www.epa.gov/rivers/services. includes services provided by a variety of federal, academic,
private, tribal, state, non-profit and local organizations.
•Top Ten Watershed Lessons Learned is a list of nationwide groups that use the watershed management approach and share first
hand experiences. This information and key contacts can also be found at: www.epa.gov/owow/lessons
• Federal Funding Sources for Small Community Wastewater Systems, www.epa. gov/owmitnet/eparev.htm
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Drinking Water Protection
• Home Water Testing Fact Sheet is one page covering how and when to have water supplies tested, collect samples, as well as
describes the differences between public and individual water supplies.
•Water On Tap: The Consumer's Guide to the Nation's Drinking Water answers questions about the source, protection, and the future of
drinking water.
• Home Water Treatment Units is a three page fact sheet with advice on the proper use of home water treatment units, common
misconceptions, and references.
• Is Your Drinking Water Safe? is an eighteen page pamphlet describing the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Drinking Water Program.
• Lead in Your Drinking Water is a fact sheet that lists potential sources of contamination, health threats, and actions you can take
to reduce lead in drinking water.
• Safe Drinking Water Hotline Fact Sheet is a one page fact sheet listing hotline services on drinking water programs and regulations.
• Self-Assessment for Small Privately Owned Water Systems is a pamphlet containing questions and worksheets to assist with planning,
financing and operations. It helps identify financial and management problems and offers suggestions for improving systems.
•Source Protection: A Guidance Manual for Small Surface Water Supplies in New England explains the benefits of protecting the
source of a water supply.
•A Citizen's Guide to Groundwater Protection explains what groundwater is, how it may be contaminated, and how to protect it.
Also available with a video.
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Rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands, streams and even the oceans can serve as catch basins for surrounding land. These Watersheds are nature's way of dividing up
the landscape, a division that often fails to coincide with our political, social, and economic boundaries.
Help protect and save your watershed.
Watershed Resource Guide
EPA-Region 1, New England
www.epa.gov/regionl
For more information:(l-888-EPA-734f)
Photo: Ed Reiner, EPA-Region 1
Rowley, Massachusetts
Parker River Watershed
Parker River dean Water Association: 1-978-462-2557
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Controlling Nonpoint Source Pollution
• Highlights of State and Tribal Nonpoint Source Programs describes water quality improvements, improved fisheries, reduced
loadings, and increased public awareness — the result of the many projects that have received funding from EPA.
•Controlling Nonpoint Source Runoff Pollution from Highways and Bridges is a pamphlet that identifies contaminants and briefly
reviews pollution control laws and programs.
* Managing Wetlands to Control Nonpoint Source Pollution
* Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Households
* Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Boating and Marinas
* Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Forestry
* Managing Urban Runoff
Nonpoint Source Fact Sheets
* Nonpoint Source Pollution: The Nation's Largest Water Quality Problem
* Opportunities for Public Involvement in Nonpoint Source Control
* Programs for Nonpoint Source Control
* The Nonpoint Source Management Program
* Protecting Coastal Waters for Nonpoint Source Control
* Managing Nonpoint Source Pollution from Agriculture
Fact sheets can be viewed at www.epa.gov/owow/nps/facts/index.html
• Nonpoint Source News Notes is a bulletin highlighting the water pollution control and ecosystem management. It includes topics
such as: riparian and watershed management, education, agricultural issues, and upcoming events.
www.epa.gov/owow/info/NewsNotes/
• Guidance Specifying Management Measures for Sources of Nonpoint Pollution in Coastal Waters addresses agriculture, silvicul-
ture, urban sources, marinas, and hydro modification. www.epa.gov/OWOW/NPS/MMGI
•Tribal Nonpoint Source Planning Handbook is for tribes interested in obtaining federal funds to manage nonpoint source pollution.
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Habitat
' EPA Wetland Fact Sheets are a collection of thirty three fact sheets covering a wide range of wetland topics—such as their value
and function, planning and partnership, contacts and regulator.' information.
'EPA Wetland Protection Hotline takes calls about wetlands and options for their protection. It provides information on the
availability of wetlands-related documents and accepts requests lor certain wetlands publications. The toll free number is
1-SOO-S32-7N2S. wwv. .cpa.gov watrhome pubs wetlink.html
• Interagency Stream Corridor Restoration Handbook is a handbook for stream restoration practitioners that includes a full range
of possibilities for restoring stream corridors, including "no action" or passive approaches, partial intervention for assisted
recovery, and substantial intervention for managed recovery. It is the result of a cooperative partnership among fifteen federal
agencies. www.usda.aov:
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Volunteer Monitoring
Volunteer Monitoring Methods Manuals examine water quality determination methodologies.
•Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual helps to conduct physical, biological and chemical assessments for rivers
and streams.
•Volunteer Lake Monitoring: A Methods Manual emphasizes identification of appropriate parameters and steps for selected
methods, www.epa..gov/owow/rnonltor/lakcvm.html
•Volunteer Estuary Monitoring: A Methods Manual is specific to estuarinc waters, www.epn.gov/owow/monitor/cstuarvm.111mI
•Volunteer Water Monitoring: A Guide for State Managers defines how managers can best organize and implement volunteer
programs.
•Volunteer Monitor's Guide to Quality Assurance Project Plans is a guide that outlines EPA's guidance for documenting objectives,
with examples and references, www.epa.goy/owow/monitoring/volunteer/qappcovr.htrnj
•Volunteer Monitoring Newsletter is a biannual newsletter that facilitates the exchange of ideas, monitoring methods, and practical
advice among national environmental monitoring groups. www.epa.gov/volunteer/vm_,lndex.html
•Monitoring Water Quality is a site that lists methods and tools to monitor, assess, and report on the results of water quality
sampling, www.epa.gov/volunteer
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Education
•The Best Environmental Teaching Guides in the EPA's New England Library is a list of eight teaching guides published by or in
conjunction with the EPA. An abstract, publication date, author publisher and call number are included to make document
tracking quick and easy.
•The Magnificent Ground Water Connection: A Resource Book for Grades K-6 is a collection of activities that can be done with
children to draw a connection between water, water cycles, the land, and sky.
www.epa.gov/region01 students teacher ground\v.html
•Teacher Resource Center has quality emironmental curricula based on subject matter, discussion, use and presentation.
www.epa.gov regionl students/teacher index.html
•Watershed Training Opportunities is a booklet that describes watershed training opportunities sponsored by EPA's Office of
Water and Watershed Academv. www.epa.gov owow watershed wacademv \\topps.html
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Rivers, lakes, estuaries, wetlands, streams and even the oceans can serve as catch basins for surrounding land. These Watersheds are nature's way of dividing up
the landscape, a division that often fails to coincide with our political, social, and economic boundaries.
Help protect and save your watershed.
Watershed Resource Guide
EPA-Region 1, New England
www.epa.gov/region 1
For more information:(l-888-EPA-734i)
Photo: Roy Crystal, EPA-Region 1
Sudbury River
Wayland, Massachusetts
SuAsCo Watershed Coalition: 1-97S440-9064
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EPA State Directors
Connecticut: Lynne Hamjian
Massachusetts: David Webster
Maine: Stephen Silva
New Hampshire: Carl DeLoi
Rhode Island: Bob Mendoza
Vermont: Jerry Potamis
Call:
1-888-EPA-7341
Speak to a EPA State Director or
EPA Watershed Coordinator for more information.
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