Rotten Bayou Watershed

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The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, in partnership with the Land Trust for the Mississippi Coastal Plain, and with input from community leaders and residents, is developing a plan for Rotten Bayou Watershed. The primary goal of the work is to improve water quality in Rotten Bayou. Rotten Bayou was listed on the EPA’s 2006 Section 303(d) list of impaired waterbodies for organic enrichment, low dissolved oxygen, turbidity, and nutrient levels, triggering the need for a watershed implementation plan. The main contributors to these environmental stressors do not come from a single source and require a holistic approach to developing solutions, along with significant education and outreach.

Work includes extensive education, community outreach, and demonstration projects of best management practices. Planning and outreach in Rotten Bayou watershed began in 2013 and will continue through June 2015. Strategies include working with non-traditional partners such as a churches, libraries, golf courses and an educational puppet show; utilizing social media and raffles to make participation appealing and accessible; and leveraging funding from NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico B-WET Program to connect students at a local elementary school to the watershed planning work.

The Watershed Implementation Plan for Rotten Bayou Watershed is funded in part by a grant from the EPA to the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) under the provisions of Section 319(h) of the Clean Water Act along with State and local match.

Follow the progress of the Rotten Bayou Watershed Partnership on Facebook