Alabama and Tombigbee Watershed Management Plans
Alabama Clean Water Partnership
Montgomery, AL
The approach taken by Kleinschmidt is to establish a project steering committee
and a riparian protection and restoration action team to assist in plan
development. Watershed community outreach and coalition-building are key elements in the
approach. Technical issues are equally important, with nonpoint source loadings and water quality modeling as a central
focus. Best management practices were identified and evaluated for expected
loading reductions. The watershed coalition building efforts for plan
development will be integral to the subsequent implementation of the river
basin plan.
The Tombigbee River Basin lies in western Alabama and part of eastern Mississippi, and covers parts of 14 counties in Alabama. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 4 provided Clean Water Act Section 319(h) nonpoint source demonstration grant funds to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to implement their Nonpoint Source Management Program.
ADEM awarded grant funding to the Alabama Clean Water Partnership to develop a river basin management plan for the Alabama & Tombigbee Rivers to support the implementation of best management practices for nonpoint source control. Kleinschmidt was retained by the Alabama Clean Water Partnership to develop the river basin management plan for both the Alabama & Tombigbee Rivers. This plan, developed over an 18-month period, involves significant public stakeholder input in identifying water resource issues and solutions.
The holistic river basin plan identifies environmental concerns, challenges, and impairments; and provide stakeholders with reasonable courses of action to protect, restore and maintain the chemical, physical, biological, and habitat integrity of aquatic ecosystems.
Key data gathering components in the river basin include:
- Land Use
- Population and Growth
- Impervious Cover
- Stream Water Quality
- Nonpoint Source Loads
- Cultural and Historic Resources
- Recreation Resources
- Surface Water Withdrawals and Flows
- Point Sources and Wastewater Disposal
- Biological Diversity