Alamo Watershed Planning Efforts
The South Big Horn Conservation District embarked on a watershed planning effort in the Alamo Watershed which includes the land from the Big Horn/Washakie County line north encompassing the Town of Manderson and some lands to the northwest of Manderson. The land included in this area is primarily used for raising barley, corn, and alfalfa during the spring and summer months. The same land is used to pasture large numbers of cattle during the winter months.
The selected area drains into the Big Horn River, which is currently listed on DEQ’s 303(d) list for E.coli contamination and is included in the recent TMDL study area completed in the Big Horn Basin. The District began the information gathering process by sending letters to all of the landowners in the watershed outlining some of the funding opportunities available.
Prior to the District work in the area, the DEQ hired a consultant, RESPEC from South Dakota, to develop the TMDL for the Big Horn river watershed. According to the draft report, “Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Water Quality Planning and Management Regulation (40 CFR 130) require states to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies not meeting applicable water-quality standards or guidelines for the protection of designated uses under technology-based controls. TMDLs specify the maximum pollutant amount a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. Based on a calculation of the total allowable load, TMDLs allocate pollutant loads to sources to incorporate a margin of safety. TMDL pollutant load reduction goals for significant sources provide a scientific basis for restoring surface water quality by linking the development and implementation of control actions to the attainment and maintenance of water-quality standards and designated uses.
The District continued to do follow-up work in the Alamo area by scheduling sit down meetings with key landowners and land users in the area during the late fall and early winter months. Landowners suggested potential projects that would serve to reduce E.coli and sediment loading in the area as well as benefit their respective farming operations.
A group of seven landowners encouraged the Conservation District to apply for DEQ’s 319 cost-share program funding. The District requested technical assistance from the local NRCS Office to draw up preliminary plans to construct a sediment pond near the Big Horn Canal and bury two highly, erodible ditches that are used for water distribution from the canal to several fields near Highway 431. An off-site watering facility for livestock will be included in this proposal.
At the end of the fiscal year, grant writing was underway and plans were being made to submit a grant to the Wyoming Non-Point Task Force by the September 15, 2015 deadline. This grant was written to undertake Alamo Watershed Plan Phase I. If grant monies are obtained for Phase 1, the landowners and the District will move forward with planning for Phase II which will include more buried pipelines and more off-site livestock watering structures. The end result will be sediment and E.coli reductions from this designated watershed.
The selected area drains into the Big Horn River, which is currently listed on DEQ’s 303(d) list for E.coli contamination and is included in the recent TMDL study area completed in the Big Horn Basin. The District began the information gathering process by sending letters to all of the landowners in the watershed outlining some of the funding opportunities available.
Prior to the District work in the area, the DEQ hired a consultant, RESPEC from South Dakota, to develop the TMDL for the Big Horn river watershed. According to the draft report, “Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act and U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA) Water Quality Planning and Management Regulation (40 CFR 130) require states to develop Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for waterbodies not meeting applicable water-quality standards or guidelines for the protection of designated uses under technology-based controls. TMDLs specify the maximum pollutant amount a waterbody can receive and still meet water quality standards. Based on a calculation of the total allowable load, TMDLs allocate pollutant loads to sources to incorporate a margin of safety. TMDL pollutant load reduction goals for significant sources provide a scientific basis for restoring surface water quality by linking the development and implementation of control actions to the attainment and maintenance of water-quality standards and designated uses.
The District continued to do follow-up work in the Alamo area by scheduling sit down meetings with key landowners and land users in the area during the late fall and early winter months. Landowners suggested potential projects that would serve to reduce E.coli and sediment loading in the area as well as benefit their respective farming operations.
A group of seven landowners encouraged the Conservation District to apply for DEQ’s 319 cost-share program funding. The District requested technical assistance from the local NRCS Office to draw up preliminary plans to construct a sediment pond near the Big Horn Canal and bury two highly, erodible ditches that are used for water distribution from the canal to several fields near Highway 431. An off-site watering facility for livestock will be included in this proposal.
At the end of the fiscal year, grant writing was underway and plans were being made to submit a grant to the Wyoming Non-Point Task Force by the September 15, 2015 deadline. This grant was written to undertake Alamo Watershed Plan Phase I. If grant monies are obtained for Phase 1, the landowners and the District will move forward with planning for Phase II which will include more buried pipelines and more off-site livestock watering structures. The end result will be sediment and E.coli reductions from this designated watershed.
