D'Olive Creek, Tiawassee Creek and Joe's Branch

Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan

About the D'Olive Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan

In 2007, a study was undertaken by the Geological Survey of Alabama in partnership with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, State Lands Division to assess the impact of land use changes in the D'Olive Creek, Tiawassee Creek, and Joe's Branch watershed. This study determined more than two- to over 200-fold greater annual sediment loads in most of these streams when compared to natural geologic erosion rates (without human impact or alteration).

In 2009, a contract was awarded to Thompson Engineering to draft a Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan for the D'Olive, Tiawassee, and Joe's Branch watershed with a coalition of local stakeholders, the D'Olive Watershed Working Group, serving as an advisory board. When complete, the Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan will identify corrective measures necessary to reduce negative water quality impacts in this highly developed watershed.
 

For more information about this project, click the links below:

Project Updates

D'Olive CWMP Timeline

Relevant Links and Publications

D'Olive CWMP Archive

Project Updates

December 12, 2009:  Glen Coffee, project manager for the D'Olive CWMP at Thompson Engineering, presented the priority problems within the watershed based on field work recently undertaken to assess watershed conditions.  According to Mr. Coffee, the four factors affecting surface runoff and sediment erosion, the watershed's primary problems, are 1) rainfall, 2) topography, 3) surface soil and geology, and 4) land use and land cover.  He pointed out that of these four factors, the only one "under our control" is land use, noting that others were natural and unchangeable.  He used an MBNEP-funded NASA study to illustrate land use changes in the watershed since 1974.  The most obvious and significant change was a 56% loss in forests in the watershed with a corresponding 36% increase in urbanized land. 

Mr. Coffee described problem areas within the watershed and listed the most significant and common problems as channel incision, channel head-cutting, mass wasting (slumping of large, steep areas of streambank), woody debris jams, excessive sedimentation, damage to wetland resources, and water quality issues.  He described specific problems at various identified "hot spots," each labeled and mapped, along with reasons, where understood, for their occurrence. With watershed problems identified, Thompson Engineering will now move forward to develop conceptual solutions and rough cost estimates for those solutions.

The next meeting is scheduled to be held on March 15.

The powerpoint presentation from yesterday's meeting can be downloaded here: DWWG Slideshow 12-10-09 or in PDF format here.

November 11, 2009:  The Thompson team is continuing to add data and GIS datalayers to the GIS that has been prepared for use in the CWMP, including stream layers, topographic information, and aerial photography. In addition, the Vittor and Associates Wetlands Condition Evaluation has been completed and is being reviewed. Funding options continue to be explored by DWWG members for the implementation of the CWMP. Finally, a public outreach plan is being written by the MBNEP and will be incorporated into the final CWMP.

The next DWWG meeting will be December 9th to identify and rank watershed problems.

October 20, 2009:  The contract to draft the D'Olive Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan (CWMP) was awarded to Thompson Engineering, Inc. on July 29, 2009. The existing D'Olive Watershed Working Group (DWWG) is serving as an Advisory Committee for Thompson Engineering in its work on the CWMP.  A kick-off meeting was held August 27 with DWWG members to get input from their members, learn their concerns, and to get additional information on potential problem areas in the watershed.

Initial work during August and early September concentrated on data gathering. Field visits have also been conducted to characterize existing known problems areas and identify possible new areas of concern within the watershed's streams caused by accelerated surface runoff and sedimentation resulting from land use changes.  This information will be used to evaluate the type and extent of projects that could be pursued to restore and improve the watershed's streams. 

The Draft CWMP is scheduled to be presented to the public in the late spring of 2010. The CWMP will include an estimate of the costs that could be required to implement the corrective measures. The CWMP will also include an evaluation of funding strategies to pay for these measures. A public meeting will be held for that purpose to solicit comments and suggestions from the watershed's stakeholders.

The next D'Olive Watershed Working Group meeting is scheduled for December 9th to identify and rank watershed problems, which will guide the direction of the remaining work to be done on the CWMP.

Project Timeline: Major Milestones in D'Olive Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan

September 2009: Data Compilation

October 2009: Watershed Characterization

December 2009: Watershed Problem Identification

January 2010: Analyze Regulatory Framework

February 2010: Identify Funding Sources

March 2010: Develop Conceptual Measures

May 2010: Draft CWMP

July 2010: Final CWMP

Relevant Links and Publications

• Analysis of Sediment Loading Rates and Impacts of Land-use Change on the D'Olive and Tiawasee Creek Watersheds, Baldwin County, Alabama (2007)

• Analysis of Water Quality, Sediment Loading Rates, Biological Resources, and Impact of Land Use Change on the D'Olive and Tiawassee Creek Watersheds, Baldwin County, AL, 2008 by Marlon R. Cook and Neil E. Moss with assistance from Stephen P. Jennings of the Geological Survey of Alabama

• Comparison of Land Use/Land Cover for D'Olive Watershed, 1974-2008. 

• D'Olive Watershed Wetlands Condition Assessment, Vittor & Associates (2010) NEW!

• D'Olive Watershed Erosion Activity Assessment, TetraTech (2010) NEW!

Archive

• Request for Qualifications

• Announcement of Pre-proposal Conference on 12.18.08

• Submitted Questions and Answers About the D'Olive and Tiawassee Creek/Joe's Branch Comprehensive Watershed Management Plan

• Pre-proposal Conference Attendee Contact Information

• D'Olive Bay, Ecological Consequences of Channel Dredging (DISL, Vittor 1972).

• D'Olive Bay, Phase IV of Ecological Consequences of Channel Dredging, (DISL, Vittor 1973).  

• Sedimentological Study of D'Olive Bay and its Drainage Basin, Baldwin County, AL, (Isphording, 1981).

The Selection Committee who evaluated the eleven proposals individually and through open discussion included the following individuals: