Watershed Protection Plan - Lower Rio Grande Valley Development ...

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EDUCATION AND OUTREACH • Distribution channels for messages and advertising about the Arroyo Colorado should combine various media including TV, newspaper and direct mail. • Messages should use the term “Arroyo Colorado” rather than “Main Floodway” as it has higher awareness by itself. • Make the message positive and motivate viewers to action by showing the effects of how the combined efforts of a family and a community can improve their water quality today. For example, limiting use of pesticides and fertilizers, reporting fi sh kills and providing ways to be vocal for clean wastewater treatment plants have positive reactions. • Messages will be best if simple, clear and contain graphics to portray how the current state of pollution will have an impact on residents. The focus for many is day-to-day life and not the distant future. • Messages should focus on “the here and now” and how the pollution of the Arroyo Colorado affects them every day. The top priority for most citizens is providing for children and their families as well as being “a good parent” for their children. • Messages that show the direct impact of how the health of their children and families are in jeopardy will be motivating for action. • Part of being a good parent is helping children get a good education, therefore information children bring home from school will most likely be discussed with the parents. A complete understanding of existing awareness levels and motivations is included in the research fi ndings presented in the document titled Arroyo Colorado Watershed Partnership Education and Outreach Campaign, May 2006, developed by SumaOrchard in collaboration with White Hat Creative and the Arroyo Colorado E&O Work Group . Message Development and Delivery Based on research fi ndings, other factual messages have been developed to defi ne and support the ACW Partnership brand. These messages address the overall E&O objectives of the Partnership and highlight the value of the natural resources associated with the Arroyo Colorado, its problems and the actions and measures that can bring about solutions. Messages defi ning the value of the natural resource include the following: • The Arroyo Colorado stretches for 90 miles through the heart of the Lower Rio Grande Valley. It originates near Mission and empties into the Lower Laguna Madre. There, it delivers the primary source of fresh (non-saline) water to the laguna – the breeding ground for many valuable fi sh and shrimp species. • A watershed is all the land that drains into a particular stream, river or waterway. The Arroyo Colorado’s watershed encompasses about 500,000 acres, most of it is used for agriculture. It also includes 10 municipalities with populations of more than 10,000 people – a number expected to grow substantially over the next 20 years. Family fishing in the Arroyo Colorado • Often, depending on it’s function and locale, the Arroyo Colorado is known by other names, including Interior Floodway, Banker Floodway, Main Drain, Main Floodway, Llano Grande, and The Ditch. All of these form a connected Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan 92 January 2007
EDUCATION AND OUTREACH organisms must have adequate dissolved oxygen in the water in order to live. • The Laguna Madre supports major fi sh and bird populations, and it provides jobs and recreational opportunities that bring millions of dollars from tourism and commercial fi shing; the Arroyo Colorado’s pollution problems threaten the health of the Lower Laguna Madre. • The Arroyo Colorado is used for irrigation, discharge of treated municipal wastewater, navigation and fl ood control, and each of these uses has a water quality consequence. These consequences can be minimized through education and involvement of the public. Messages defi ning the recommended solutions include the following: Volunteer monitors train in McAllen waterway system, and they all are a part of the Arroyo Colorado. • Many residents live near the Arroyo Colorado or cross over it many times a day and don’t even realize it. • Originally a stream channel of the Rio Grande, the Arroyo Colorado now serves many more purposes, including fl ood control and drainage, a route for commercial barge traffi c from the Port of Harlingen to Arroyo City, a receptacle for treated wastewater from a number of municipal plants, a channel for storm water runoff and excess irrigation waters, a bird sanctuary, and a place for family and tourist recreation, including swimming, fi shing, hiking and birdwatching. • Construction of regional wetland systems will improve habitat and remove nutrients from urban and agricultural runoff. • Construction of small wetland cells and pond systems will remove nutrients from treated wastewater. • Increased agricultural management designed to mitigate pollutants from farming in the watershed will reduce pollutant loading to the Arroyo Colorado. • Improved wastewater infrastructure for municipalities and rural communities in the watershed will reduce pollutants in the Arroyo Colorado. • Water quality monitoring to assess the health of the Arroyo Colorado and to gain additional knowledge of the pollutant sources and water Messages defi ning the problems include the following: • The Arroyo Colorado is not in good shape. It’s offi cially known as an “impaired waterway.” This simply means it’s dangerously polluted and the water quality does not meet clean water act standards. • From 1990 to 2004, 26 million fi sh died in 19 separate documented fi sh kills in the Arroyo Colorado. These disasters were caused from low levels of dissolved oxygen, a situation created by too many nutrients and sediments being washed into the waterway. Fish and many other aquatic Stakeholders discuss habitat issues January 2007 93 Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan
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Photos courtesy of Brand Cowan, Cam
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CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .........
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CONTENTS - FIGURES Habitat Restorat
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TABLES LIST OF TABLES Table 1. Tabl
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Arroyo Colora
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Habitat Approxima
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY management practi
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Elements of the W
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INTRODUCTION In its most pristine c
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INTRODUCTION Colorado, where physic
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED PARTN
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED The A
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED the D
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED Figur
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED Table
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THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED Resac
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STATE OF THE WATERSHED From a natur
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STATE OF THE WATERSHED resacas loca
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STATE OF THE WATERSHED Water Qualit
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STATE OF THE WATERSHED Table 8. Des
Page 53 and 54: STATE OF THE WATERSHED Figure 12. L
Page 55 and 56: STATE OF THE WATERSHED Figure 14. 1
Page 57 and 58: STATE OF THE WATERSHED Figure 18. T
Page 59 and 60: STATE OF THE WATERSHED Figure 20. T
Page 61 and 62: STATE OF THE WATERSHED facilities a
Page 63 and 64: STATE OF THE WATERSHED controlled.
Page 65 and 66: STATE OF THE WATERSHED Tree plantin
Page 67 and 68: XXX Arroyo Colorado Watershed Prote
Page 69 and 70: POLLUTION IN THE ARROYO COLORADO
Page 71 and 72: POLLUTION IN THE ARROYO COLORADO 1)
Page 73 and 74: POLLUTION IN THE ARROYO COLORADO St
Page 76 and 77: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK Successful
Page 78 and 79: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK the water r
Page 80 and 81: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK managing pr
Page 82 and 83: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK criteria fo
Page 84 and 85: INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK pertaining
Page 87 and 88: ELEMENTS OF THE ARROYO COLORADO WAT
Page 102 and 103: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH Fostering lo
Page 106 and 107: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH quality prob
Page 108 and 109: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH • Develop
Page 110 and 111: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH take to do t
Page 112 and 113: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH industry, de
Page 114 and 115: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH To support m
Page 116 and 117: EDUCATION AND OUTREACH members of t
Page 119 and 120: ESTIMATED WATERSHED LOADINGS AND LO
Page 129: ESTIMATED WATERSHED LOADINGS AND LO
Page 132 and 133: WATER QUALITY MONITORING PLAN Figur
Page 134 and 135: WATER QUALITY MONITORING PLAN Figur
Page 136 and 137: WATER QUALITY MONITORING PLAN Autom
Page 139 and 140: TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
Page 150 and 151: SOURCES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL
Page 152 and 153: SOURCES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL
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SOURCES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL
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SOURCES OF TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL
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IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE Federal CWA
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IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE Table 24. T
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IMPLEMENTATION SCHEDULE TMDL Monito
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MEASURING PROGRESS The ultimate mea
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MEASURING PROGRESS Table 25. Criter
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MEASURING PROGRESS Table 27. Milest
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APPENDICES HUC HWWS IBWC IMAS km LL
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APPENDICES APPENDIX B Arroyo Colora
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APPENDICES arise necessitating the
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APPENDICES c. Committee Members: Co
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APPENDICES APPENDIX C Arroyo Colora
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APPENDICES FRANK MARTINEZ IBWC JAME
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APPENDICES WESLEY ROSENTHAL TAMU JE
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APPENDICES APPENDIX E Rare Plants a
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APPENDICES Common Name Scientific N
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APPENDICES APPENDIX F Locally Activ
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APPENDICES Gorgas Science Foundatio
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APPENDICES Endangered Species Act T
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APPENDICES APPENDIX H List of Feder
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APPENDICES Common Name Scientific N
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APPENDICES APPENDIX I Selected Mars
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APPENDICES Mid-Depths - 15 to 50 cm
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REFERENCES Arnold, J.G., P.M. Allen
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REFERENCES IBWC, 2003. Hydraulic Mo
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REFERENCES TAES (Texas Agricultural
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REFERENCES USEPA, 1999. Draft Guida
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