Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters

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EPA 841-B-08-002, March 2008

Fact Sheet: Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters

The Handbook

Try out EPA's companion tool, the Watershed Plan Builder!

 Listen to January 18^th, 2006 Webcast presentation "Using EPA’s Draft Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore and Protect Our Waters"

You can order a free copy of the Handbook from the National Service Center for Environmental Publications (NSCEP). Contact NSCEP at 800-490-9198 or by e-mail, nscep@bps-lmit.com. When requesting a copy of the Handbook, please refer to EPA document number: EPA 841-B-08-002. You can also download the Handbook here.

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How Does this Handbook Help to Protect and Restore Water Resources?

This handbook is intended to help communities, watershed organizations, and state, local, tribal and federal environmental agencies develop and implement watershed plans to meet water quality standards and protect water resources. It was designed to help any organization undertaking a watershed planning effort, and it should be particularly useful to persons working with impaired or threatened waters. EPA intends for this handbook to supplement existing watershed planning guides that have already been developed by agencies, universities, and other nonprofit organizations. The handbook is generally more specific than other guides with respect to guidance on quantifying existing pollutant loads, developing estimates of the load reductions required to meet water quality standards, developing effective management measures, and tracking progress once the plan is implemented.

EPA will be seeking advice from watershed organizations in developing the future versions of the handbook. A mailbox for emailed comments, suggestions, and corrections has been created. Please address them to watershedhandbook@epa.gov.

The links below present the full handbook and the handbook divided into 13 chapters, contents (including the cover page, table of contents, and acronyms and abbreviations), 2 appendices, a glossary, and a bibliography, with downloadable PDF files for each. You may download each file by clicking on its link.

The Handbook

You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.

Note:
The full Handbook is a very large file that may take a long time to download. The individual parts (chapters and other divisions) of the full document are much smaller files that will open quicker. Opening the smaller files is the recommended viewing method.

• Download the full Handbook (PDF) (400 pp, 14MB) (See Note, above.)

Contents

• Cover, Table of Contents & Acronyms & Abbreviations (PDF) (23pp, 826K)
• Chapter 1: Introduction
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (7 pp, 1.4MB)
• Chapter 2: Overview of Watershed Planning Process
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (19 pp, 2.4MB)
• Chapter 3: Build Partnerships
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (21 pp, 1.8MB)
• Chapter 4: Define Scope of Watershed Planning Effort
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (17 pp, 578K)
• Chapter 5: Gather Existing Data & Create an Inventory
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (50 pp, 3MB)
• Chapter 6: Identify Data Gaps & Collect Additional Data if Needed
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (24 pp, 1.4MB)
• Chapter 7: Analyze Data to Characterize the Watershed & Pollutant Sources
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (18 pp, 1.9MB)
• Chapter 8: Estimate Pollutant Loads
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (38 pp, 2.9MB)
• Chapter 9: Set Goals & Identify Load Reductions
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (14 pp, 814K)
• Chapter 10: Identify Possible Management Strategies
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (24, 1.4MB)
• Chapter 11: Evaluate Options & Select Final Management Strategies
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (35 pp, 2.4MB)
• Chapter 12: Design Implementation Program & Assemble Watershed Plan
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (32 pp, 946K)
• Chapter 13: Implement Watershed Plan & Measure Progress
  Brief description | Read full chapter (PDF) (15 pp, 273K)
• Appendix A: Resources
  Brief description | Read full appendix (PDF) (15 pp, 589K)
• Appendix B: Worksheets
  Brief description | Read full appendix (PDF) (26 pp, 351K)
• Appendix C: List of State Nonpoint Source and Watershed Planning Contacts
  Brief description | Read full appendix (PDF) (9 pp, 158K)
• Glossary
  Brief description | Read full glossary (PDF) (7 pp, 119K)
• Bibliography
  Brief description | Read full bibliography (PDF) (13 pp, 191K)