Using Land Cover Data to Inform Watershed Management in Florida

Challenge

A watershed management plan offers a strategy to protect, enhance, and restore water quality and natural systems while achieving flood protection. Thorough, accurate information on all impervious surfaces—roads, parking lots, sidewalks, etc.—is necessary for the plan to be successful and cost-effective. Watershed managers in Pinellas County, Florida, lacked the necessary data; oftentimes what they saw in the field was not reflected accurately in the watershed management plans.

Solution

County managers used Digital Coast land cover data on the area’s impervious surfaces to update and increase the accuracy of their watershed management plan. By incorporating these data into the planning process, the county is better equipped to protect and improve communities’ water quality and reduce flood risks while remaining cost-efficient.

Stormwater model elements with NOAA C-CAP impervious data overlay for impervious analysis. The blue dots represent structural or hydraulic elements such as drainage areas, outlets, and junctions. The orange and black dashed lines represent the sub-basin, with pipes in red, weirs in green, and channels in orange. The lines with arrows represent links or pathways between each structural or hydraulic element.

Where this page came from

This page was imported from NOAA Office for Coastal Management. A Digital Coast story by NOAA's Office for Coastal Management; as a work of the United States government, in the public domain.

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