Restoration and Watershed Planning Program

Identifying polluted waters and developing plans to restore them.

On this page:

• About the Program
• Types of Assistance
• How This Program Helps Build Resilience
• Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts

About the Program

Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) authorizes the EPA to assist states, territories, and authorized tribes in identifying impaired waters, developing “pollution diets” or Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) for these water bodies, and protecting healthy watersheds. A TMDL establishes the maximum amount of a pollutant allowed in a water body and serves as a planning tool for restoring water quality. These plans often consist of a technical document and an associated implementation document that outline activities that a state or tribe may take to meet water quality goals. A diverse set of partners work together to identify actions that achieve multiple benefits for the watershed, including those related to resilience. The TMDL program released the 2022 - 2032 Vision for the Clean Water Act Section 303(d) Program with a focus area on climate change.

Types of Assistance

The TMDL program offers states, territories, and authorized tribes a variety of assistance that can help TMDLs address climate impacts.

Technical Assistance

• Under the TMDL program, every state is required to identify impaired water bodies every two years. This list of water bodies can be a useful tool for aligning resilience and water quality work. The 2022-2032 Vision document mentions incorporating consideration of climate change impacts to water quality in identifying impaired and threatened waters. EPA program staff provide technical assistance in the development of this list when needed.
• The program provides resources summarizing techniques to assess and predict the health of water bodies, as well as general guidance on developing TMDLs.
• The Recovery Potential Screening (RPS) Tool can also help states consider where to invest restoration or protection efforts for greater likelihood of water quality improvement, based on ecological, stressor, and social watershed characteristics. These tools can help support prioritization of waters that may be particularly susceptible to changing climate conditions for protection and restoration, as mentioned in the 2022-2032 Vision document.

Convening Assistance

• The TMDL program provides training and knowledge exchange opportunities for states, tribes, and territories through regular communications and annual workshops.
• As stated in the 2022-2032 Vision document, the EPA will collaborate with interested partners to further incorporate consideration of the impacts of changing climate conditions into TMDL program operations.

Outreach and Education Assistance

• How’s My Waterway is a critical data and mapping integration platform used by water managers, educators, students, and the public. It assembles publicly available information on the quality of our nation’s waters at the community, state, and national level. The EPA is actively working to identify, prioritize, and grow the underlying foundation of climate-specific data and information for the How’s My Waterway app. These efforts will improve the accessibility and transparency of water and climate data and the discoverability of data sets for climate change and water resource research, as well as support climate-informed decision-making across Clean Water Act and Safe Drinking Water Act programs.
• The Assessment TMDL Tracking and Implementation System (ATTAINS) database provides information on the conditions of surface waters as reported by the states. Among other uses, the data in ATTAINS feeds into How’s My Waterway and provides the status of TMDLs in each state with links to individual TMDL reports.

How This Program Helps Build Resilience

The TMDL program can help communities prepare for water quality challenges that may be exacerbated by climate change impacts (e.g., flooding, drought, erosion, acidification) by supporting water restoration and protection activities. TMDLs and lists of impaired waters developed by the states, territories, or authorized tribes, can help identify where to conduct resilience and hazard mitigation work. Some state hazard mitigation plans (HMPs) reference TMDLs as tools for prioritizing funds for hazard mitigation and management activities. Implementation strategies linked to TMDLs may include projects and implementation practices that offer resilience co-benefits such as flood and drought mitigation. Determining the amount of pollution that can enter a waterbody and still meet state-defined water quality goals can contribute to the long-term resilience of a waterbody even in the face of climate impacts.

Connections to Other EPA, Federal, or Non-Governmental Efforts

The EPA’s TMDL program works across water quality programs within and outside EPA at the federal and state levels. This collaborative approach not only helps achieve water quality goals but also supports integrated resilience efforts. Highlighted below are a few examples.

Coordination with Federal Agencies

• The TMDL program in EPA Region 7 has worked with 10 federal partners to host a workshop, “Defining Our Future Path to Resilient Watersheds,” to find ways to link water quality, hazard mitigation, and economic sustainability, and to highlight examples of successful state efforts.
• U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) program provides technical assistance and funding to agricultural landowners for practices that improve water quality. NRCS works closely with the state Nonpoint Source programs to reduce NPS pollution in watersheds with TMDLs.
• U.S. Geological Survey and the EPA worked in partnership to develop estimates of future hydrologic conditions (streamflow, runoff, snow water equivalence, soil moisture) across the conterminous United States based on changes in temperature and precipitation. Potential applications of the tool include performing vulnerability assessments for drinking water and surface waters due to changing flows and water availability, as well as predicting wildfire risks to water quality.
• There are several categories in the Community Rating System manual that fit within the TMDL program’s and the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s purview. For example, Community Rating System activities can support open space preservation, stormwater management regulations, watershed master plans, and water quality regulations.
• The TMDL program has been working in partnership with Silver Jackets teams in states across the country to bring together multiple state, federal, and sometimes Tribal and local agencies to learn from one another and apply their knowledge to reduce the risk of flooding and other natural disasters in the United States, which helps to enhance response and recovery efforts when such events occur.

Coordination with States

• The Iowa Watershed Approach provides a vision for the future of Iowa’s watershed management that is aimed at reducing flood risk, improving water quality, and increasing resilience. It engaged stakeholders throughout the watershed through collaboration, outreach, and education efforts to develop a program that was scalable and replicable. Ongoing coordination between Iowa’s Department of Natural Resources and the EPA Region 7 TMDL program helped provide a strong foundation for this work. This project was funded through a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Disaster Resilience Grant, in addition to resources from HUD, the State Revolving Fund programs, and Brownfields programs that were used for a project in Bee Branch.
• Water quality restoration projects often have co-benefits important for hazard mitigation. For example, reducing impervious surfaces can reduce polluted runoff entering waterways while also supporting flood management. The TMDL program has been involved in pilot projects to connect water quality work with hazard mitigation planning at the state and local levels. These efforts have been led by the EPA’s Nonpoint Source Program.