Tracking erosion reduction activities on private lands in the Van Duzen River watershed, California, with GIS (Geographic Information Systems)

National water quality targets have been identified and implemented through the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) process, and resulting watershed restoration helps mitigate the causes and effects of water pollution. Monitoring progress towards TMDL targets via watershed restoration is a vital accounting step for future conservation and adaptive regulation. To support tracking of restoration projects, I developed a Microsoft Access/Esri ArcMap geodatabase tool to monitor road upgrade accomplishments of one watershed group and their success in the implementation of the Van Duzen River Sediment TMDL. The geodatabase tool was designed to facilitate planning, track implementation, and produce summary reports which were presented to the watershed group and North Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board staff. Both groups confirmed that the resulting tool was an appropriate and effective method to summarize effects of restoration and to demonstrate achievement towards meeting the TMDL targets. This tool can serve as a framework around which other watershed groups can organize and use to track their efforts and progress toward meeting water quality targets.