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FOREST SERVICE MANUAL
SOUTHWESTERN REGION (REGION 3)
ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO
FSM 2500 - WATERSHED AND AIR MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 2530 – WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Supplement No.: 2500-92-1
Effective Date: 08/10/92
Duration: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed.
Approved: LARRY HENSON
Regional Forester
Date Approved: 08/10/1992
Posting Instructions: Supplements are numbered consecutively by title and calendar year.
Post by document; remove the entire document and replace with this supplement. Retain this
transmittal as the first page(s) of this document. The last supplement to this title was 2500-92-1.
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New Document(s):
Superseded Document(s)
(Amendment Number and
Effective Date)
4 Pages
3 Pages
Digest:
2532.03
Adds guidance for managing water quality using the “Soil and Water
Conservation Practices Handbook” (R-3 FSH 2509.22).
R3 SUPPLEMENT 2500-92-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/10/1992
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed
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FSM 2500 – WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 2530 – WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
2530.43 - Regional Forester.
The Regional Forester shall:
1. Provide overall direction of water quality management.
2. Coordinate technology transfer and quality control necessary for water quality
programs.
3. Assure that Forest Service planning is coordinated with state, local, and other federal
water quality agencies.
4. Periodically review forest application of the water quality management standards,
guidelines, and direction.
5. Review all forest water quality monitoring and inventory plans.
2530.44 - Forest Supervisor.
The Forest Supervisor shall:
1. Coordinate land management plans with water quality management agencies.
2. Include water quality protection standards and guidelines in the Forest Plan.
3. Assure standards and guidelines for implementation of Best Management Practices
are included in plans.
4. Assure through designed monitoring programs that National Forest activities comply
with applicable state and area-wide water quality standards.
5. Include in land and resource management prescriptions appropriate provisions for
control pollution from NFS activities.
6. Conduct all monitoring and inventory according to approved plans reviewed by the
Regional Forester.
7. Assure timely analysis of data.
8. Train people in nonpoint water pollution control and soil protection.
R3 SUPPLEMENT 2500-92-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/10/1992
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed
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FSM 2500 – WATERSHED MANAGEMENT
CHAPTER 2530 – WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
2531.03 - Policy.
Schedule water resource investigations to occur in the order of the management priority of NFS
watersheds.
Conduct water resource investigations on all NFS watersheds to determine watershed condition
and its influence on hydrologic function. Rate each NFS watershed as Class I, II, or III
watershed condition. Use the watershed condition rating to help sequence watershed
improvements (FSM 2522.11, R-3 Supplement).
2531.2 - Investigation Planning.
Rank all NFS watersheds (FSM 2513.2) by management priority.
2532 - WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
In 1972, the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) Amendments became law. The
Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1977 amended the original document with further modifications
occurring in the Reauthorization Act of 1987. Together, these documents provide the authority
to manage water quality on National Forest Service (NFS) lands.
Section 319 of the amended CWA provides authority for each state to prepare a nonpoint source
(NPS) water quality management program that includes cooperation with Federal agencies. As
part of that cooperation the states have recognized the Forest Service as a designated
management agency for NPS water quality management. They have recognized our Integrated
Resource Management (IRM) process for developing Best Management Practices (BMPs) to
control NPS water pollution on NFS lands.
2532.02 - Objective.
To control NPS water pollution through the application of BMPs.
2532.03 - Policy.
BMPs will be developed within the guidelines and procedures set forth in R-3 FSH 2509.22,
"Soil and Water Conservation Practices Handbook."
2532.04 - Responsibility.
1. Regional Forester. The Regional Forester shall:
a. Update R-3 FSH 2509.22 as new or improved practice become available.
R3 SUPPLEMENT 2500-92-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/10/1992
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed
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CHAPTER 2530 – WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
2. Forest Supervisor. The Forest Supervisor shall:
a. Evaluate BMPs through formal and informal reviews of project planning,
accomplishment and monitoring.
3. District Rangers. The District Ranger shall:
a. Determine and apply BMPs for water quality protection and improvement in
management activities.
2532.05 – Definitions
1. Best Management Practice (BMP). "A practice or combination of practices that are
determined (by a state or designated area-wide planning agency) through problem assessment,
examination of alternative practices, and appropriate public participation to be the most effective,
practicable (including technological, economic, and institutional considerations) means of
preventing or reducing the amount of pollution generated by nonpoint sources to a level
compatible with water quality goals." Adjustments in scheduling, technology, and design of
activities are the most beneficial long-term BMP's.
2532.1 - Water Quality Inventory.
Give priority to developing water quality inventories for research natural areas to establish
benchmark information for monitoring resource changes related to Forest plan implementation.
2532.2 - Analysis and Interpretation of Water Quality Data.
Document methods of analysis and interpretation in a water quality inventory plan before water
quality data is gathered.
2532.4 - Water Quality Planning.
Set objectives for managing the quality of the water resource in Forest land management plans
and project implementation plans.
Identify and incorporate preventive and corrective management practices where applicable into
land management plans and project environmental analysis. Select these management practices
through a systematic analysis of cause-effect relationships. Include: (1) design specifications;
(2) implementation requirements; and (3) quality control assurances for application in
prescriptions.
2532.5 - Water Quality Monitoring.
Give priority to on-site monitoring over instream monitoring to assure conformance to planned
activities.
R3 SUPPLEMENT 2500-92-1
EFFECTIVE DATE: 08/10/1992
DURATION: This supplement is effective until superseded or removed
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CHAPTER 2530 – WATER RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
2534.5 - Water Measurements.
Manage the Turkey Creek gage on the Prescott National Forest in accord with provisions of
Cooperative Agreement No. 16-R3-79-0014.
See FSM 2744.1 for Memorandum of Understanding with the Soil Conservation Service
concerning snow surveys.
2535.03 - Policy.
Recognize potential water resource development sites in the land allocation process. Place
management emphasis on preserving options for developing future flood control, hydro-power,
and water storage facilities at identified potential sites. Recognize sites for water resource
development that are inventoried by state and federal water resource management agencies
during the Forest planning process.