Module 6.2 Guiding Question 6: Watershed Management

Infographic 6: In a managed riparian area, why not allow zone 1 to have managed forest like zone 2?

Key concept: good watershed management can reduce non-point source pollution. Limits can be set for maximum amount of pollutant that can enter that water, and steps can be taken to meet those targets. For example, well vegetated riparian areas reduce runoff and act as nutrition sinks.

eutrophication process

plants die->bacteria multiplies->use up oxygen->fish die Runoff from heavy rain carries nutrients in stream.

feasible

possible, able to be done

2. Total maximum daily load TMDLs

-when approach being used to address eutrophication is TMDLs. a. The maximum amount of pollutants that can enter the water on a daily basis. b. Targets can be adjusted downward's to improve water quality overtime. c. Point source: Permits allot a portion of a TMDL to production.

A. Watershed management

1. Management of what goes on in an area around streams and rivers a. Necessary for addressing nonpoint source pollution b. Key to reversing the dead zone in the Gulf. -The clean water act does not specify, for example, how much nitrogen fertilizer a Farmer can apply. This is not even feasible because recommended amounts vary from farm to farm and runoff potential varies according to rainfall, terrain, and even the crop that is planted. * so even though the EPA can't really set performance standards and monitor thousands farms farms in millions of urban and suburban area, they have created recommended in areas of the watershed near bodies of water. C. Includes following best management practices agreed-upon actions that minimize pollution problems caused by human actions.

eutrophication

A process by which nutrients, particularly phosphorus and nitrogen, become highly concentrated in a body of water, leading to increased growth of organisms such as algae or cyanobacteria.