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A detail from a shaded relief map with wetlands, used in a watershed characterization study. |
The Watershed Management Program brings together diverse elements of current and proposed watershed-related work within WSDOT's Environmental Services. The goal of the program is to ensure the integration of transportation planning and project delivery into statewide watershed recovery efforts.
The program consists of an interdisciplinary team of resource managers applying a watershed-based approach to the delivery of transportation projects. Providing resource and technical assistance for watershed-based planning, the program promotes environmental and economic benefits, process streamlining, and sound environmental policy and procedures.
The watershed program has seen many successes since its inception, including developing and implementing new watershed characterization tools for identifying natural resource mitigation and stormwater flow control opportunities, development of the Flood Management Initiative, and extensive work with the Watershed-based Mitigation Subcommittee of the Transportation Permit Efficiency and Accountability Committee.
Applying a watershed approach helps WSDOT:
- Identify gaps and inconsistencies in regulatory programs
- Increase flexibility in regulatory programs
- Develop statewide policies in support of non-traditional forms of mitigation (in conjunction with regulatory agencies)
- Reduce costs through partnerships with federal, state, tribal and local agencies
- Facilitate and support habitat protection and restoration efforts
- Integrate transportation into watershed management plans and species recovery plans
At the same time, we have done our part to help increase the public's awareness of their watersheds and inspire public confidence in WSDOT's programs.
Staff and Partners
The Watershed Program's dedicated staff consists of:
- program manager/ecologist
- two hydrogeologists
- water quality specialist
- watershed policy specialist
- hydrologist/modeler (contract employee)
- hydrologist (contract employee)
The watershed management team works closely with, and relies heavily upon, other parts of Environmental Services, especially biology and geographic information systems. By working closely with partners within WSDOT, and maintaining relationships with regulatory agencies such as the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Washington State Department of Ecology, the watershed program provides continues to be a valuable asset in transportation delivery.
Watershed Program Functions
The Watershed Program has two main areas of function:
On-call technical source of hydrology, geomorphology, and hydrogeology expertise that can be readily accessed by WSDOT regions. We assist with issues including transportation-related streambank erosion, bridge scour, stream flow modeling, tidal inundation, floodplain function, chronic environmental deficiencies, bioengineering, reach analyses, and wetland groundwater monitoring. Staff from other parts of the agency, especially regional staff, contact watershed program staff when they need expert assistance in these areas.
Interdisciplinary technical team to implement emerging watershed characterization methods. These methods are being tested on large urban transportation projects to identify potential mitigation sites that have the greatest potential to maximize environmental benefit and reduce project cost. We also work to coordinate WSDOT watershed actions with local, state, and federal agencies and interagency groups involved in the statewide watershed effort.