Programs

Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention

The Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act (PL 83-566), August 4, 1954, as amended, authorized NRCS to cooperate with States and local agencies to carry out works of improvement for soil conservation and for other purposes including flood prevention; conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water; and conservation and proper utilization of land.

NRCS implements the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act through three programs:

Watershed Surveys and Planning
Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Operations
Watershed Rehabilitation

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Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act, P.L. 83-566

Watershed Surveys and Planning

P.L. 83-566 provides the authority for NRCS to cooperate with other Federal, State, and local agencies in making investigations and surveys of river basins as a basis for the development of coordinated water resource programs, floodplain management studies, and flood insurance studies. NRCS also assists public sponsors to develop watershed plans to mitigate flood damages; conservation, development, utilization and disposal of water; and conservation and proper utilization of land. The focus of these plans is to identify solutions that use conservation practices, including nonstructural measures, to solve problems.

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Watershed Operations

Watershed Operations is a voluntary program which provides assistance to sponsoring local organizations of authorized watershed projects, planned and approved under the authority of the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act of 1954 (P.L. 83-566), and 11 designated watershed authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944 (P.L. 78-534). NRCS provides technical and financial assistance to States, local governments and Tribes (project sponsors) to implement authorized watershed project plans for the purpose of watershed protection; flood mitigation; water quality improvements; soil erosion reduction; rural, municipal and industrial water supply; irrigation water management; sediment control; fish and wildlife enhancement; and wetlands and wetland function creation and restoration.

There are over 1,500 active or completed watershed projects.

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Flood Prevention Program (PL 78-534)

The Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944 authorized the Secretary of Agriculture to install watershed improvement measures to reduce flood, sedimentation, and erosion damages; further the conservation, development, utilization, and disposal of water; and the conservation and proper utilization of land.

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A Locally Led Program

Project sponsors are provided assistance in installing planned land treatment measures when plans are approved. Surveys and investigations are made and detailed designs, specifications, and engineering cost estimates are prepared for construction of structural measures. Areas where sponsors need to obtain land rights, easements, and rights-of-way are delineated. Technical assistance is also furnished to landowners and operators to accelerate planning and application of needed conservation measures on their individual land units. There are presently over 1600 projects in operation.

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