Blue Creek Sub Watershed

From watershed management plan:

Priority areas were identified in the watershed based on lands that are contributing, or have the potential to contribute, a majority of the pollutants impacting water quality. By identifying priority areas, implementation can be targeted to the places where the most benefit can be achieved. Three different types of areas were prioritized in the PPRW – protection, agricultural management, and urban management.

The Blue Creek Sub Watershed is a mix of High (river corridor) and Medium Priority Protection Areas. The high and medium priority areas, if not preserved or at least managed properly, have the potential to contribute large amounts of pollution, as well as disrupt hydrologic patterns in the watershed.

Protection Areas- The prioritization of protection areas is based on the amount of natural land cover (habitat), groundwater recharge potential, intact wetland functions, the presence of high-quality water bodies and development pressure. Section 8.1 of the management plan provides more details. The following tasks should be focused in the high and medium priority protection areas.

• Enact/improve water quality protection related ordinances
• Protect wetlands 
• Enact ordinances protecting riparian buffers
• Develop and enact design and maintenance standards for road stream crossings
• Enact a septic system time of sale inspection ordinance
• Identify and correct problem road/stream crossing sites
• Protect sensitive lands 
• Improve soil erosion and sedimentation practices and regulations (building construction site practices and regulations)
• Improve zoning maps to locate high density or intensive uses in appropriate areas
• Identify and correct failing septic systems