Water

Master Topic

Master Topic pages provide an overview of wiki topics and content

Master Topics
(by last edit)

• Watershed Planning
• Forestry
• Puget Sound Ecosystem Funding
• Stormwater
• Governments
• Flood Hazard Management
• Agriculture
• Restoration
• Land Cover and Development
• Salmon Recovery
• Conservation Using Regulation
• Conservation Using Acquisition
• Vegetation and Revegetation
• The Law
• Climate
• Biota
• Transportation Networks

Salish Sea References

• Ecology Coastal Oblique Photography
• The Encyclopedia of Puget Sound provides a peer reviewed version of the wiki
• The Nearshore Map Portal
• Habitat Work Schedule Map
• PRISM Project Search
• Washington Coastal Atlas

Wiki Rules

• Wiki text does not reflect the policy or opinion of any agency or organization
• Please adhere to our social contract
• Complain here, and be nice.

What Links To This Page?

• Topics ‎ (← links)
• Salmon Recovery ‎ (← links)
• Transportation Networks ‎ (← links)
• Water Quality ‎ (← links)
• Agriculture ‎ (← links)
• Flood Hazard Management ‎ (← links)
• Governments ‎ (← links)
• Restoration ‎ (← links)
• Land Cover and Development ‎ (← links)
• Conservation Using Acquisition ‎ (← links)
• Conservation Using Regulation ‎ (← links)
• Climate ‎ (← links)
• Biota ‎ (← links)
• The Law ‎ (← links)
• Vegetation and Revegetation ‎ (← links)
• Stormwater ‎ (← links)
• Water Supply (redirect page) ‎ (← links)
  • Governments ‎ (← links)
  • Watershed Planning ‎ (← links)
  • Category:Water (redirect page) ‎ (← links)
• Water supply (redirect page) ‎ (← links)
  • Agriculture ‎ (← links)
• Puget Sound Ecosystem Funding ‎ (← links)
• Storm and Surface Water Drainage Utilities ‎ (← links)
• Forestry ‎ (← links)
• Watershed Planning ‎ (← links)
• Template:Mastertopic ‎ (← links)
• Template:CONTENTmastertopic ‎ (← links)

Both the quantity and quality of surface and ground waters is a large interrelated set of topics, and one of the ecosystem service priorities of government. This page and its associated topics provides an overview of water cycle management.

Local Management of Water

• Most counties have a surface water management work group within a public works department. This group may have some of the authorities of an independent public utility (for example Seattle Public Utilities).
• In some counties, some water management functions may be delegated to a diking or drainage district, a watershed improvement district, or other Special Purpose District.
• Most counties have a land use planning and regulatory workgroup. This group defines land use regulations based on state law, reflected in county codes. Of particular importance for ecosystem management are Critical Area Ordinances and Comprehensive Plans driven by the Growth Management Act which limit activities and determine the intensity of development near water systems, and Shoreline Master Plans driven by the Shoreline Management Act which is intended to specifically prevents net loss of ecological functions near water systems.
• Local governments often use state expertise as Best Available Science for the purpose of informing their Critical Areas Regulation or Shoreline Master Programs.

State Management of Water

• State water laws govern Water Rights, and one kind of water right is a reservation of water for In Stream Flow
• State law also specifies water quality standards, which determine if a body of water is in violation and should be the subject of some kind of corrective action.
• The Washington State Department of Ecology has the greatest authority over water systems, both under state law, and through delegation of federal authority.
• Washington State Department of Commerce is responsible for defining procedures for implementing the Growth Management Act which affects private activities that affect the function of water systems.
• The EPA and PSP identified freshwater quality as one of the Vital Signs resulting in development of a implementation strategy (SSI 2020) which uses Benthic Index of Biological Integrity as a measure of cumulative effectiveness of our protection and restoration work.

Federal Management of Water

• Clean Water Act is the driver of federal water management. Section 404 drives regulation of wetlands. The EPA is responsible for implementing most of the clean water act, however the USACE has specific roles in wetland management, and many federal authorities are delegated to WDOE.
  • The clean water act defines what "waters and wetlands of the united states" are under its jurisdiction.
  • National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) is how jurisdictions and private land owners must obtain a permit to release pollutants. Those NPDES permits include requirements to increase water protection over time.
  • When waters of the US exceed standards, this may trigger a Total Maximum Daily Load study, which generates a body of Best Available Science about a specific system.
• Water affects endangered salmon and so federal agencies that effect water quantity or quality are required to consult with NOAA or USFWS (Depending on the species) about whether the program is meeting Endangered Species Act requirements. This affects water quality standards, and flow requirements.

Wiki Pages

The following pages use the 'water' category:

Topics Clean Water Act Total Maximum Daily Load National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Effects of Stormwater Pollution on Fish In-Stream Flow Beaver Composting Toilets Stormwater Monitoring with Mussels Nitrogen Critical Aquifer Recharge Areas Harvesting surface water for irrigation Roads and Streams LiDAR Storm and Surface Water Drainage Utilities Hood Canal Low Oxygen Levels Grey Water Watershed Planning Act 303(d) Listing Effects of Forest Management on Stream Flow Nooksack Watershed General Stream Adjudication Water Sustainability Act Groundwater recharge Riverscape The Blob

Documents File:Leonetti 2015 stillaguamish temperature TMDL study.pdf Stanley et al 2012 watershed assessment water model Pelletier & Bilhimer 2004 stillaguamish temperature TMDL study Lawrence 2006 stillaguamish temperature TMDL strategy File:SnoCo 2017 diking and drainage district relationships.pdf Mote et al 2003 preparing for climate change salmon water and forests File:Lucchetta et al 2014 land use regulation and stream flow king county.pdf File:Stanley et al 2018 memo watershed characterization hydrologic condition index.pdf File:Gendaszek 2011 ground surface water interactions chehalis.pdf File:Hirschey & Sinclair 1992 hydrogeology scatter creek black river thesis.pdf File:Thurston County 2006 scatter creek aquifer water quality whitepaper.pdf File:Olympia 2018 surface and storm water plan.pdf File:Olympia 2019 stormwater management program plan.pdf File:Rentz et al 2020 WDFW riparian management recommendations.pdf File:SSI 2020 freshwater quality implementation strategy.pdf Bowling & Lettenmaier 1997 forest road effects on streamflow File:Dickerson-Lange 2017 nooksack watershed management watershed function.pdf File:Mauger et al 2015 snohomish downscale hydrologic projections.pdf Yeomans 1958 the challenge of landscape

Other Pages Category:Hydrology Stormwater Strategic Initiative Lead File:Hume 2022 hydrologic condition index land use.pdf Voluntary Clean Water Guidance for Agriculture