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

TECHNICAL AND FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE REQUIRED
partnerships for resource-sharing and to facilitate the
funding of conservation projects. These needs have
been incorporated into the Habitat Restoration portion
of the “Technical Assistance Needs” section of this
document.
Urban Storm Water
In the spring of 2007, municipalities within the Arroyo
Colorado watershed will begin developing Storm Water
Management Programs (SWMPs) for areas within
the respective jurisdictions designated as “Urbanized
Areas” under Phase II TPDES storm water regulations.
The portions of these programs that may impact the
Arroyo Colorado were discussed by the Rio Grande
Valley TPDES Storm Water Task Force Task Force and
the ACW Partnership during the spring and summer
of 2006 and will be incorporated into the individual
SWMPs.
Because Phase II SWMPs for small MS4s are largely
tailored to each specifi c MS4 system, quantifying
the technical assistance needs associated with their
development and implementation is very diffi cult at
present. However, one of the major components
of Phase II SWMPs that all permit holders will have
in common is the development of an E&O plan for
storm water issues. An assessment of the technical
assistance needs associated with the development and
implementation of storm water E&O plans has been
included in the overall assessment of technical needs
for the E&O Component of the ACW Protection Plan.
For a complete assessment of the technical needs
associated with the E&O Component of the ACW
Protection Plan see the E&O portion of the “Technical
Assistance Needs” section of this document.
Education and Outreach
Aside from the technical assistance needs
associated with implementation of the Agricultural
Issues Component, the biggest need for technical
assistance associated with the ACW Protection Plan
is in the implementation of the E&O Component of the
Plan. The E&O Component of the ACW Protection Plan
is multifaceted and incorporates aspects of every other
component of the watershed plan. Technical expertise
in areas such as agricultural management practices,
management of urban runoff and sustainable urban
development are crucial to E&O efforts in the Arroyo
Colorado watershed. The ACW Partnership estimates
that general efforts to increase awareness of the water
Capturing the beauty of riparian fl ora
quality issues associated with the Arroyo Colorado
alone (Strategies 1-4 and 9 ) will require at least 3,120
work hours over the next 10 years. However, as this
work progresses, the ACW Partnership anticipates
that other individuals, groups and organizations will
become actively involved in the effort to increase
awareness of the water quality issues associated with
the Arroyo Colorado and the Lower Laguna Madre and
will execute many of the objectives outlined in this plan,
diminishing the need for technical support for general
E&O tasks.
The ACW Partnership estimates that creation and
implementation of micro-campaigns for specifi c target
audiences (Strategy 5), evaluation of E&O campaigns
(Strategy 6) and involvement in and support of Smart
Growth and stormwater E&O efforts will require an
additional 2,500 work hours over the next 10 years.
Near-term Technical Assistance Needs for
Education and Outreach (2006-2010)
For the planning interval of 2006-2010, the ACW
Partnership estimates 3,745 working hours of technical
assistance will be required to implement the near-term
tasks associated with the E&O Component of the ACW
Protection Plan.
Long-term Technical Assistance Needs for
Education and Outreach (2011-2015)
For the planning interval of 2011-2015, the ACW
Partnership estimates 1,875 working hours of technical
assistance will be required to implement the long-term
tasks associated with the E&O Component of the ACW
Protection Plan.
January 2007 131 Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan