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

ELEMENTS OF THE ARROYO COLORADO WATERSHED PROTECTION PLAN
Agriculture
To reduce pollutant loading from agricultural fi elds
in the Arroyo Colorado watershed, state and federal
governments are working with local stakeholders in
the watershed to focus state and federal cost share
and educational programs on agricultural issues in the
Arroyo Colorado watershed. The programs encourage
and support the voluntary adoption of Resource
Management Systems (RMS) and Water Quality
Management Plans (WQMPs) by local landowners.
Together the programs accomplish the following:
• Provide technical assistance to individual
landowners to help develop individual farm water
quality management plans,
• Help farmers pay for the practices through cost
share assistance for their individual farm plans,
• Provide educational programs to keep farmers
current on proper management and production
techniques and
• Monitor and assess agriculture’s contribution
of pollutants and evaluate and demonstrate the
benefi ts of BMP implementation and measure
progress.
RMSs and WQMPs are site-specifi c plans that
outline the appropriate land treatment practices and
a schedule for their implementation appropriate for
each individual farm. The criteria established for
developing Resource Management Systems and
Water Quality Management Plans is contained within
the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) Field Offi ce Technical
Cotton
Table 11. Priority BMPs Covered Under TSSWCB
and USDA Programs and Targeted for
Implementation as Part of the ACW Protection
Plan
Best Management Practice (BMP)
Code
Number
Conservation Crop Rotation 328
Residue Management 344
Irrigation Water Management 449
Irrigation System 441-443
Irrigation Tail Water Recovery 447
Nutrient Management 590
Pest Management 595
Irrigation Land Leveling 464
Subsurface Drain 606
Irrigation Pipeline 430
Grade Stabilization Structures 410
Pasture and Hay Planting 512
Filter Strip 393
Guide (FOTG). The NRCS Field Offi ce Technical Guide
contains technical information, important conservation
considerations for natural resources, quality criteria and
treatment levels, conservation management system
guide sheets by land use, information on the effects of
applied conservation treatments and practice standards
and specifi cations.
Table 11 shows a list of the specifi c BMPs targeted
for implementation as part of the ACW Protection Plan
and covered under the TSSWCB and USDA programs.
Additional BMPs listed in the NRCS Field Offi ce
Technical Guide (FOTG) that may help improve habitat
and water quality in the Arroyo Colorado are presented
in Table 12.
Priority will be placed on encouraging voluntary
implementation of practices in close proximity to the
impaired segment fi rst and progress outward. Highest
priority will be given to practices that reduce runoff from
fi elds (e.g. subsurface drains, land leveling, etc.) and
reduce runoff of nutrients (e.g. nutrient management).
Through the voluntary implementation of WQMPs and
RMS, the following BMPs will be given a highest priority
for implementation on all irrigated cropland:
• Conservation Crop Rotation (Code 328) –
growing various crops on the same piece of land
in a planned sequence
January 2007 81 Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan