USEFUL WEBSITES
FOR URBAN WATERSHEDS
These
links were compiled by Dr. Ron Stewart as part of a group
project for the GMU course entitled "Forested
Watersheds."
Maps,
Map-Based Information, and Data Sets
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: EPA
maintains a number of useful watershed related websites.
Surf Your Watershed allows you to locate your watershed and to
obtain specific information about watershed condition from EPA’s
database. This site also links to a Watershed Atlas that
contains a geo-spatial display and analyses of information important
for watershed restoration and protection. This includes
an Enviromapper for Watersheds that displays various indices of
watershed indicators selected by the user. Finally, the
EPA Office of Water has a useful home page with various links
to publications, laws and regulations, training, and other environmentally
related websites.
· EPA home page
° Surf
Your Watershed-Search
° Surf
Your Watershed-Locate Your Watershed
° Surf
Your Watershed-Fairfax County, VA
° Surf
Your Watershed-Watershed Information-Middle Potomac-Catoctin Watershed,
includes Difficult Run
° Middle
Potomac-Catoctin Watershed-Index of Watershed Indicators,
includes Difficult Run
° Enviromapper
for Middle Potomac-Catoctin Watershed, includes Difficult
Run
° EPA’s
Watershed Atlas home page
° EPA’s
Office of Water home page
U.S. Geological Survey: The USGS
maintains a wealth of map-based information on all U.S. watersheds.
The National Mapping Information page contains information on
obtaining electronic geospatial data files, aerial photos, and
maps. The GIS Data for Water Resources is a particularly
useful site that allows you to find and access spatial data related
to water resources and the National Water Information System.
The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set
of digital spatial data that contains information about surface
water features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs
and wells. USGS also maintains hydrologic unit maps and
a site containing information on Difficult Run. The Geographic
Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the USGS in cooperation
with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information
about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features
in the United States. The National Atlas of the United States
updates a large bound collection of paper maps that was published
in 1970. It delivers easy to use, map-like views of America's
natural and sociocultural landscapes. Unlike the previous Atlas,
this version is largely digital.
· USGS home page
° USGS
National Mapping Information home page
° GIS
Data for Water Resources
° Hydrologic
Unit Maps
° National
Hydrography Dataset
° The
National Hydrography Dataset data gateway website
° Geographic
Names Information System home page-You can access Difficult
Run information through this site
° The
National Atlas home page
The Natural Resources Conservation Service: The USDA Natural
Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
maintains geospatial mapping data on soils, water and climate,
plants, and other subjects. Their home page provides links
to NRCS Technical Data Resources and information for teachers
and students.
· The NRCS home page
° NRCS
Technical Resources website
The U.S. Census Bureau: The U.S.
Census Bureau maintains a public database on population growth
and demographics by county. They also have a number of specific
analyses of economic and other indicators useful for projecting
potential growth.
· Census Bureau home page
° Census
Bureau Population Projection Program
Commonwealth of Virginia: The Departments of Environmental
Quality (DEQ) and Conservation
and Recreation (DCR)
of the Commonwealth of Virginia have several watershed related
sites. For example, the DEQ home page has a link to information
on the various watershed level strategies for reducing the controllable
flow of nutrients into the Chesapeake Bay. The DCR site
has a link to soil and water conservation programs.
· Department of Environmental
Quality home page
° Virginia
tributary strategies
· Department of Conservation
and Recreation home page
° Soil
and water conservation website
Center for International Earth Science Information Network:
CIESIN was established in
1989 as a non-profit, non-governmental organization to provide
information that would help scientists, decision-makers, and the
public better understand their changing world. They specialize
in global and regional network development, science data management,
decision support, and training, education, and technical consultation
services. They are housed at Columbia University.
· CIESIN home page
The Geography Network: The
Geography Network is a global community
of data providers who are committed to making geographic content
available. This content is published from many sites around the
world, providing you with
immediate access to the latest maps, data, and related services.
· The Geography
Network home page
Fairfax County, VA: Fairfax
County has made its GIS and mapping data available to the
public. This information includes maps of special features
that can be easily downloaded and printed.
· Fairfax County
home page
° Fairfax
County GIS data and maps
° Downloadable
maps, including a color map of the watersheds of Fairfax County
The Chesapeake Bay Program: The
Chesapeake Bay Program home page has links to information
about all aspects of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including profiles
of Difficult Run.
· The Chesapeake
Bay Program home page
° Profile
of the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed
° Profile
of the Difficult Run watershed
Manuals,
Handbooks and Educational Resources
Many
of the government and non-government organizations listed here
have educational materials available. Some have information
for use by children. In addition, several universities have
training and teaching materials available, sometimes through their
extension activities.
Purdue University: As an example, Purdue
University has a “Know Your Watershed” website where you can
download videos that define a watershed and show how watersheds
are impacted. This site also links to a number of watershed
guides: building local partnerships, getting to know your watershed,
leading and communicating, managing conflict, putting together
a watershed plan, reflecting on lakes, wetlands: a key link in
watershed management, and ground and surface water: understanding
the interaction.
· Know Your Watershed
home page
The Interagency Stream Corridor Restoration Working Group:
Fifteen federal agencies combined their experience, skills and
technology as the ISCRWG
to produce “Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes,
and Practices.
· Stream
Corridor Restoration-The complete, as-printed version of the
document is available at this site
The Center for Watershed Protection: The CWP
has a number of “how-to” resources for watershed protection and
restoration.
· CWP home page- This
text hyperlink sometimes does not work—if necessary, enter the
address directly
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service:
The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension
Service (CREES)
National Program in Natural Resources and responds to a broad
spectrum of natural resource and environmental issues: air quality;
animal waste management; biodiversity; climate changes; conflict
resolution; ecosystem management; fish and wildlife management;
forestry; geographic information systems; housing and indoor air
quality; land-use planning; public issues education; remote sensing
for forest mapping, soil studies, range management; soil science;
solid waste management; water quality; watershed science; and
wood products.
· Home
page for CREES-Natural Resources and Environment
Models
and Software
U.S. State and Local Gateway (U.S. EPA): EPA maintains
a website, “Environment/Energy
Tools,” that includes links to the Center for Environmental
Information and Statistics (CEIS), community based environmental
protection, EPA databases and software, envirofacts, environmental
software, environmental planning for small communities, pollution
prevention tools for homeowners and renters, and others.
· State
and Local Gateway home page
American Forests: American
Forests developed CITYgreen
, a GIS-based software tool that helps people understand the value
of trees to the local environment.
Planners and natural resources professionals use the program to
test landscape ordinances, evaluate site plans and model development
scenarios that capture the benefits of trees. The software conducts
complex statistical analyses of ecosystem services and creates
easy-to-understand maps and reports. CITYgreen calculates dollar
benefits based on your specific site conditions. CITYgreen analyzes:
stormwater runoff, air quality, summer energy savings, carbon
storage and avoidance, and tree growth.
· CITYgreen
website
Natural Resources Conservation Service: The USDA Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS)
has designed a runoff model, Technical Release 55 (TR-55).
The model presents simplified procedures to calculate storm runoff
volume, peak rate of discharge, hydrographs, and storage volumes
required for floodwater reservoirs. These procedures are
applicable in small watersheds, especially urbanizing watersheds,
in the United States. Limits: NRCS type distributions, 24-hour
duration rainfall, 10 subwatersheds, minimum 0.1 hour and maximum
10-hour time of concentration. The model can be downloaded
free of charge.
· TR-55
website
University of Wisconsin-Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison
maintains a website (Insite)
with the Natural Resources Conservation Service that contains
a number of software tools relevant to conservation decision making,
including a community conservation toolbox under Natural Resources.
· Computer
tools index download website
Non-Governmental
Organizations
TreePeople: TreePeople
is a Los Angeles based organization that works with private groups
and local government to develop and implement innovative approaches
to urban watershed management. Their home page has links
to the T.R.E.E.S. Project
that includes a design charrette which brought together planners,
architects, engineers, and others to develop Best Management Practices
for the LA Basin watershed. It includes a planbook, implementation
plan, and demonstration site.
· TreePeople home
page
° TREES
Project website
Center for Watershed Protection: Founded in 1992, the CWP
works with local, state, and federal governmental agencies, environmental
consulting firms, watershed organizations, and the general public
to provide objective and scientifically sound information on effective
techniques to protect and restore urban watersheds.
They have CD-ROM presentations designed to provide community leaders,
watershed managers, educators and activists with materials to
craft their own watershed protection seminars. The Center also
acts as a technical resource for local and state
governments around the country to develop more effective urban
stormwater and watershed protection programs. The Center publishes
a periodic journal entitled Watershed Protection Techniques, which
provides reliable and accurate summaries of the latest tools for
protecting watersheds across North America. Techniques is designed
to link watershed practitioners together and provide a forum in
which to exchange research, ideas, and experience in the field.
Their home page has links to watershed planning, land conservation,
aquatic buffers, better site design, erosion control, stormwater
BMPs, non-stormwater discharges, and watershed stewardship (under
“Protecting a Watershed”), and model ordinances. Their “Protecting
a Watershed” link is particularly useful.
· Center for Watershed Protection
home page-This text hyperlink sometimes does not work—if
necessary, enter the address directly
° Protecting
a Watershed website
° Model
watershed ordinance website
American Forests: American
Forests is the nation's oldest nonprofit citizen conservation
organization, founded in 1875 by citizens concerned about waste
and abuse of the nation's forests. Their mission today remains
helping people improve the environment with trees and forests.
They work to ensure a sustainable future for our nation's forests
- both urban and rural - through national and international tree
planting, forest policy, urban forestry, and popular programs,
such as Global ReLeaf. Through their Global ReLeaf program,
they have planted more than 15 million trees in 500+ forest ecosystem
restoration projects and urban and community forest projects.
Their home page links to an extensive information base on trees,
cities and sprawl; and to a watershed planning tool called CITYGreen
4.0.
· American Forests
home page
° American
Forests index to urban sprawl resources
° Urban
forest information links
° Trees
fight sprawl-five step plan to combat sprawl