Missouri Watershed Management Assistance

Program Purpose:

The goal of the Missouri Watershed Management Assistance (MoWMA) is to provide communities with resources relating to sound watershed management practices. Communities will explore their watershed resources to determine quality and quantity as it relates to their specific needs. The primary focus of MoWMA is to assist communities in their efforts to conserve, improve and protect ground and surface water through comprehensive watershed management, thus sustaining a good quality of life.

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Services:

• Assistance with community organizing and coalition building
• Assistance in defining the problems and developing strategies relating to watershed management
• Facilitate the development of resources; technical, funding, etc.
• Assistance with evaluating success of project

Benefits:

• Accessibility to multi agency resources
• Citizen involvement in improving the quality of life in their community
• Empowering people to make decisions that directly affect their quality of life
• Creating awareness in people as to the importance of watershed management to the economic and social well-being of their community
• Improved water quality through wise watershed management

Background:

The Water Quality Focus Team, after several months of evaluation, identified the need for the type of services provided by MoWMA. The Water Quality Focus Team, a multi-agency team, was created to explore the water quality issues affecting Missouri now and into the future. The Water Quality Focus Team is composed of Federal and State agencies having responsibilities for protecting water resources. Representatives from Missouri Department of Conservation, Department of Natural Resources, University of Missouri-Outreach and Extension and USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service compose the Water Quality Focus Team.

Our nation and states are experiencing growing demands on their water resources. With these increasing demands, the threat for contamination also increases. Contributing to the problem is the perceived need of Federal and State governments to enact new stringent regulations promoting water quality standards for public water supplies. The Water Quality Focus Team, after exploring watershed management issues in Missouri, identified resources available for addressing these concerns.

The question then became: How to inform the people of Missouri where these resources can be located and how they might be used in their communities? The Water Quality Focus Team began exploring alternative ways to assist communities to develop local capacity, identify problems and develop solutions relative to their watershed management needs.

For people to effectively address watershed concerns, they need to understand how they directly or indirectly affects their lives. Too many decisions in the past were made by people with little or no knowledge relative to the problem they were trying to resolve. Problems associated with watershed management are no different; people need to have access to resources and technical assistance to make informed decisions. Many local change initiatives flounder and fail because communities find it frustrating and difficult to organize their efforts and access relevant information; not for lack of interest. Identifying the correct agencies, organizations and people to be involved in the initial planning, often means processing and understanding each agency's/organization's roles & responsibilities relative to the problem.

Missouri Watershed Management Assistance will provide communities with resources and access technical assistance required to organize the community and inform citizens to help them make informed decisions relative to their watershed management needs. In short, MoWMA can help cut the red tape and minimize traditional turf issues often inherent in multiagency efforts.

MoWMA is being designed as a "point of first contact" for communities, local governments and groups needing assistance with watershed management issues. Each region (University of Missouri-Outreach Extension) will have two staff identified as contacts for water quality assistance. At the initial contact, the community or group will be asked to complete a request for assistance. The request form will be used by Extension staff to facilitate transferring relevant information and technical assistance back to the community or group. Working with the community or group, Extension staff will develop the necessary contacts with the other members of MoWMA to work with the community in developing a plan of action to address the community or group's watershed management problem.

The Missouri Watershed Information Network (MoWIN) will become an invaluable partner in addressing watershed issues state-wide. The wealth of information being collected and organized by the Clearinghouse will serve as a major resource for water quality information by all MoWMA members and their clientele.

Expected Outcomes:

• Informed Missouri citizens ( leadership ) capable of and willing to address problems and develop alternatives relative to watershed issues
• Improved watershed management throughout Missouri
• Local and MoWMA cooperative efforts to address watershed management
• Improved community environmental conditions leading to a better economic and social atmosphere, thus an improved quality of life

Objectives:

• Provide a minimum of two trained Extension staff (per Extension region), to be the first line of contact for communities or groups needing assistance
• Develop grass root leadership and competency relating to problem solving
• Increased awareness of water quality principles, Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Watershed Management
• Increased awareness of water quality issues relating to non-point pollution
• Interagency cooperation in developing alternatives for working with communities, groups and local governments relating to water quality
• Communities, groups, local governments and other organizations be come proactive rather than reactive in addressing water quality issues

Target Audiences:

• Watersheds
• Communities
• Citizen groups
• Local governments-City and County
• Private and public agencies
• Economic Development Organizations
• Chambers of Commerce
• Water related utilities

Implementation:

• The Water Quality Focus Team will be the catalyst for identifying the partners and develop the working relationships for the MoWMA:
  • develop agreements of understanding
  • outline respective commitments
  • identify agency staff to serve in each Extension Region.
• University Outreach and Extension will identify and provide training for two staff in each Extension Region to serve as facilitators for Watershed management issues.
• Develop a list of informational and technical resources by agency name, phone numbers, E-mail address and Universal Resource Locator address (Web Page).
• Develop a Mo WMA Web Page that people can access from a computer in their home, local government building, Community Information Network, etc. A web page could be used to explain the goals of Mo WMA, have links for contacting Mo WMA representatives in each Extension region to post questions or request an electronic form for assistance.
• Water Quality Focus Team will develop a strategy for educating the people in Missouri about Mo WMA, i.e. publicity campaign, flyers, brochures, etc.
• Water Quality Focus Team in conjunction with Mo WMA, will develop an out-come based evaluation instrument.

Time Line:

• A planning task force is now in place working to develop a format for the Water Quality focus Team to review and make suggestions.
• December 1, 1997 Mo WMA model will be completed and ready for final approval from the WQFT.
• Orientation and training for agencies and staff will be completed by June, 1998.
• Mo WMA service will be available state-wide August 1, 1998

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Last modified: August 27, 2002