Watershed Policies and Funding

Watershed policies, broadly speaking, are what regulates both public and private activities within watersheds.  This is accomplished primarily through the use of codes and ordinances, the establishment of minimum or maximum standards, establishment of budgets and appropriation of funds. Effective watershed policy will provide many benefits including:  reduced flood damages and more resiliency, better water quality, improved green and open space for the community.

Conservation Design (CD) is an approach to land development (or re-development) that mimics historical hydrology by utilizing natural systems to manage stormwater close to to where it is generated on the landscape. CD employs principles such as preserving and re-creating natural landscape features, minimizing effective imperviousness to create functional and appealing site drainage that treats stormwater as a resource rather than a waste product. Conservation Design incorporates Low Impact Development (LID) practices or Green Infrastructure (GI).