In 2008, the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality launched its Targeted Watershed Improvement Plan Grant Program (WIP) to address specific pollutants causing impairments within targeted drainage areas. The WIP program focuses on identifying and prioritizing water quality improvement projects that are critical to restore water quality. Prescott Creeks, an environmental non-profit organization, was a recipient of a WIP Grant for the Upper Granite Creek Watershed located in the highlands of Central Arizona. Click here to read the ADEQ Press Release.

Goals

The goals of the WIP are:

1.To identify the primary sources of nutrients and E. coli in the watershed and

2.To establish a plan to implement projects that will reduce these pollutant concentrations so that water quality standards will be met in all water bodies, including those listed as impaired (Watson Lake and Granite Creek).

Time line

The duration of the Watershed Improvement Plan grant program is two years. During fall 2009 and winter/spring 2010, the Watershed Improvement Council will gather chemical, physical, biological, and social data on the watershed. The council will have a final draft of the Watershed Improvement Plan by December 2010. The plan will include a list of Best Management Practices (BMPs) to mitigate the loading of nutrients and E. coli in local waterways as well as a list of critical sites for implementing these practices. A project demonstrating one of the selected BMPs will be implemented by May 2010. The project will conclude with public education and outreach campaigns at the end of May 2010.