Solutions for Watershed Protection

Most ways to protect or restore aquatic resources in an urbanized or developing watershed will fall under one of the following eight categories of solution or protective tool:

1. Land Use Planning
2. Land Conservation
3. Aquatic Buffers
4. Better Site Design
5. Erosion and Sediment Control
6. Stormwater Best Management Practices
7. Non-Stormwater Discharges
8. Watershed Stewardship Programs

Watershed protection is about making choices about what solutions to apply and in what combination. These solutions roughly correspond to the stages of the development cycle from initial land use planning, site design, and construction through home ownership. As a result, as watershed managers we will generally need to apply some form of all eight tools in every watershed to provide comprehensive watershed protection. The solutions, however, are applied in different ways depending on what type of water resource is being protected. Each of these tools is an essential element of a comprehensive watershed protection approach and their goal is to provide us with a realistic approach for maintaining a quality environment for future generations.

View an expanded outline of each of the 8 solutions.

View an Elks Run Watershed "Pollution Solutions" poster.