FLOOD10357

• Document ID: 123
• County: Rio Grande
• Stream Name: Alamosa River
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Sub-Basin: Alamosa - Trinchera
• Water Division: 3
• Title: Alamosa River Watershed Project Literature and Watershed Assesment, Final EPA Report
• Date: 9/30/2003
• Prepared For: Valle del Sol Community Center
• Prepared By: US Environmental Protection Agency
• Watershed Pro - Doc Type: Project Report

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The Alamosa River Watershed does not have a full time Watershed Coordinator. It is
highly recommended that the Foundation seek funding from the EPA or CDPHE to fund
such a position. Watershed restoration activities need to be overseen or managed by a
full time coordinator who will report to the Foundation. Just some of the many functions
that could be performed by this position are:

· Coordinate with agencies concerning water quality monitoring
· Participating in the development of the Watershed Restoration Plan
· Oversee and manage environmental consultants working on watershed projects
· Manage a public involvement program
· Develop monitoring programs
· Work with USFS, BLM, and private landowners to initiate new projects
· Grant writing to obtain additional restoration funding
· Look out for the best interests of the watershed
· Manage monitoring programs to assess conditions in the watershed
· Prepare for tri-annual evaluation by WOCC and participate in the TMDL process
· Develop partnerships with environmental or conservation groups to improve resource
conservation and enhancement

The management of watershed restoration projects is a cyclic approach that hinges
around public involvement and support. The approach should follow seven basic steps:

1. Perform an initial watershed assessment to identify areas representing significant
environmental risks
2. Prioritize environmental risk areas for restoration,
3. Develop a strategy by developing alternatives to address the risk and obtain funding,
4. Develop an Implementation Management Plan,
5. Implement the project,
6. Perform strategic monitoring to evaluate effectiveness or modify approach, and
7. Finish the project and further assess other watershed locations initially identified as
representing a risk.

The timing of these steps is dependent upon the amount of financial funding or the
complexity of the project. Critical to the approach is developing and using a logical
prioritization scheme to select potential projects. A well thought out approach will
provide the best positive impact for the dollar.

The resources of the watershed need to be put into a management system. Geographic
Information Systems (GIS) is a tool that is used by many watersheds to manage
resources on a watershed basis. Several resources can be put into a watershed
database to understand spatial and temporal characteristics of the watershed. Locations
of delineated wetlands, areas of high sediment deposition, rivers segments not meeting
water quality standards, high priority habitat restoration areas, floodplains, etc, can be
placed into a GIS System. The GIS system can be used to generate reports, provide
figures to the public, and be used to assess data on a broad watershed basis. EPA
Grants are available to initiate GIS Studies. The Alamosa River Watershed Coordinator
can perform management of the GIS database and system.

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