Watershed Management

One approach for communities to take to protect water quality is to adopt local watershed management plans that identify steps to manage the cumulative effects of nonpoint source pollution and habitat destruction within watersheds.

One way a watershed management plan can be implemented is for municipalities to individually, or in concert with other municipalities in the same drainage basin, adopt watershed regulations that are specifically designed to protect and restore water quality in the watershed for drinking water, recreation, and natural habitat protection. Common sources of nonpoint source pollution include, failing on-site wastewater treatment systems, improper application of fertilizer and pesticides (agricultural, commercial, and residential), and urban and stormwater runoff.

In Tompkins County, watersheds drain northward into Lake Ontario and southward into the Susquehanna River / Chesapeake Bay. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), with support from local watershed organizations such as the Upper Susquehanna Coalition and the Cayuga Lake Watershed Intermunicipal Organization (IO), is spearheading current efforts to preserve and restore these watersheds. Both the DEC and the IO are utilizing a multi-jurisdictional and multi-organizational approach, which enables local governments within these watersheds to work together for the purposes of accessing dollars, cost savings, and efficiency of activities among municipalities.