Catalpa Creek Watershed Planning, Restoration, and Protection Project

Ramirez-Avila, J. J., Schauwecker, T., & Prince Czarnecki, J. M. (2016). Catalpa Creek Watershed Planning, Restoration, and Protection Project. Conference: XIX Conferenza Nazionale della Società Italiana degli Urbanisti (SIU). Catania, Italy.

Abstract

The rural/urban interface, including the management of water resources, is a key topic for cities around the world. Questions abound about how to integrate the social, ecological, and economic components of watershed management in a complex semi-urban/agricultural system. Our study area, the Red Bud-Catalpa Creek watershed, is currently listed by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) as impaired by sedimentation and a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has been developed that sets challenging targets for sediment load reductions. Future management of the watershed and its associated targets represents a top-down management approach driven by established processes of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), MDEQ, the United States Department of Agriculture\\\'s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), and Mississippi State University (MSU) administration. A Water Resources Management Plan (WRMP) for watershed sustainability has been prepared for the Red Bud-Catalpa Creek watershed and is being evaluated by the State and Federal regulatory agencies. Management practices have been identified to address the agricultural resource concerns related for the watershed (e.g. sedimentation, grazing lands, sustainable forestry, and declining wildlife habitats), and the need for sustainable urban storm water management in the headwaters of the watershed. Analyses and designs are being considered to restore the structure and function of Catalpa Creek and to mitigate downstream storm water impacts