The National Water Quality Initiative: Partnerships, Watershed Planning, and Measuring Success.

Since 2012, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the state water quality agencies collaborate through the National Water Quality Initiative (NWQI) to reduce agricultural nonpoint sources of pollution in small agricultural watersheds. NWQI watersheds are selected by NRCS State Conservationists in consultation with state water quality agencies and NRCS State Technical Committees based on the potential for on-farm conservation investments to deliver the greatest water quality benefits at the watershed scale. NWQI watersheds receive USDA NRCS dedicated financial assistance from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program. Water quality monitoring is a critical evaluation tool in determining success; state water quality agencies are assessing progress through instream water quality monitoring in a subset of NWQI watersheds using Clean Water Act Section 319 or other funds.

Improvements in water quality are more likely to be detected when robust watershed scale assessments are in place prior to conservation practice implementation. Success is highly dependent on implementation of watershed plans that include resource assessments and outreach plans, typically as a result of strong, established partnerships. In 2015, states reported that comprehensive watershed plans were in place for about 58% of NWQI watersheds. Other NWQI watersheds have some form of a plan that may have data gaps or need additional assessments at appropriate scales to be able to successfully implement conservation practices where they will be most effective at improving water quality. To better improve the likelihood of partner and NWQI success, NRCS is providing funds, through a Pilot Project started in 2016, to assist with watershed assessments and outreach strategies for one year before conservation practice implementation occurs. These planning efforts help improve effective implementation of conservation systems, in particular the ability to direct conservation practice activity in critical areas in a watershed to address water quality concerns.