Madison County SWCD Forms Watershed Partnership

By Danny Williams, retired NRCS District Conservationist, Huntsville, AL

You may not consider watershed work as "rocket science," but it became so when representatives from NASA’s own Environmental Engineering and Management Section approached the Madison County Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) about developing a watershed management plan to address the sedimentation and organic loading problems in the Indian Creek Watershed.  The District had successfully developed a management plan and acquired EPA Section 319 grants for a previous project in the Flint River Watershed, so the Indian Creek project was welcomed by the District. 

The Madison County SWCD agreed to partner with NASA.  Retired NRCS District Conservationist Danny Williams was hired to develop the management plan and to apply for Section 319 grant funds.

The first step in the process was to develop a partnership of stakeholders.  In early 2007, a partnership was formed which included the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), the City of Huntsville, NRCS, Tennessee River Basin Clean Water Partnership, Harvest-Monrovia Water and Sewer Authority, Rocket City Water Watch, and, of course, the District and NASA.  With the partnership in place, data and information were collected over several months by the stakeholders, which led to the development of the Indian Creek Watershed Management Plan.

After submitting the Management Plan and Section 319 grant application to ADEM, the Madison County SWCD was awarded a grant in the amount of $337, 241 on October 22, 2007 (another $225,000 will be provided in-kind by landowner and partners). Funds will be used to partner with landowners to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) that will reduce sedimentation and organics and lead to Indian Creek being removed from ADEM’s 303d list of impaired waterbodies.

ictured signing the grant:

Seated: LtoR

Carmen Yelle, Environmental Scientist, ADEM

James Long, Chairman, Madison County SWCD

Standing LtoR

Malene McElroy, Environmental Engineer, CH2MHILL

Roger Bunnell, Environmental Engineering and Management, NASA

Samantha Hartsell, Water Resources Representative, TVA

Christy Bise, Environmental Scientist, ADEM

Danny Williams, Indian Creek Project Coordinator, Madison County SWCD

Regina McCoy, Water Resources Representative, TVA

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