The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has placed Watson Lake and Granite Creek on Arizona’s 303(d) Impaired Water List for not attaining surface water quality standards due to excessive nutrient and bacteria levels. In 2009, Prescott Creeks applied for, and received, a Targeted Watershed Improvement Planning grant from the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) to address these impairments (shown in red on map).
The goals of the Watershed Improvement Plan (WIP) are to:
- Identify primary sources of nutrients and E.coli bacteria in the watershed, and
- Develop a plan to reduce the pollutant concentrations entering surface waters
Stakeholders
The Granite Creek Watershed Improvement Council (WIC) was formed to administer the planning phase and is representative of the diverse interests and stakeholders within the watershed. WIC members are representatives of Prescott Creeks, City of Prescott, Yavapai County, Prescott National Forest, Arizona Department of Transportation, local businesses, and citizens.
To read more about the WIC and its representatives, visit the Granite Creek WIC website.
Watershed Improvement Plan
The WIC submitted a revised Watershed Improvement Plan (WIP), known as WIP 2.0, for the upper Granite Creek Watershed. The revised plan consists of a menu of Best Management Practices, or BMPs, that can be implemented by individuals and the jurisdictional entities in the watershed, to achieve the desired result of reducing the nutrient and bacteria concentrations in our surface waters. The WIP also recommends specific projects that the WIC will pursue as demonstration projects.