Abstract

GIS and TMDL Reduction Strategies – The Agricultural Challenge
Track: Agriculture
Authors: Lisa Cotterman, Debbie Johnson, Pat Boldt, Pat Boldt

Federal TMDL standards mandate a reduction of pollutants in impaired water bodies by 2020. Fines for non-compliance ensure that watershed stakeholders, (Agriculture, Urban MS4 permittees, etc.) have a vested interest in the accurate assignment of pollutant responsibility and documentation of pollutant reduction.
The presentation will discuss how the Western Riverside County Agriculture Coalition's (WRCAC), a non-profit 501 (c) 3 group representing Agriculture in the San Jacinto River, CA watershed, used ArcGIS to successfully approach these challenges for two 303 d water bodies. Highlights will include: 1) Project Development; creation of the multi-functional geodatabase, creation of aerial photo interpreted data layers, harvesting extant datasets, implementing geospatial overlay and statistical tools, 2) Results to date; accurate inventory of agricultural acreage, owner/operators list for TMDL fee assessment, creation of crop overlays, BMP assessments, and 3) How WRCAC's experience can serve as a successful model for others.