TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY USE OF AIRBORNE REMOTE SENSING FOR WATERSHED MONITORING

摘要

Over the past seventeen years, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has beenrnextensively involved in the identification and abatement of land-based NonPointrnSource (NPS) environmental problems in various watersheds throughout thernTennessee Valley. From our experience, land use and land activity GIS databasesrnderived from 1:12,000 and 1:24,000 scale color-infrared aerial photographs are arncost-effective tool that watershed planners can utilize for developing andrnimplementing NPS pollution corrective actions. This is accomplished through:rn1.1documenting the source, location and magnitude of all nonpoint pollutionrnproblems in the watershedrn1.2providing the impetus for getting agencies, industries, interest groups andrnlandowners together to work toward a common goalrn1.3cost-effectively implementing abatement measures through targetingrnpriority watersheds, pollutants and sitesrnTVA provided NPS inventories and GIS databases have been successfully usedrnby watershed special interest groups and committees as a mechanism to obtainrnfunding for corrective actions mainly targeted toward rural landscapes. Pollutantrnloads from livestock and poultry operations, failing septic tanks, erodingrnpastureland, cropland, and roadbanks affect the water quality and ecologicalrnhealth of streams in these areas. Obtaining funding to resolve most environmentalrnproblems is a difficult task without adequate data. Unfortunately, mostrnwatershed-based action groups do not have the expertise to obtain the level ofrndata required to document problems in order to obtain these improvement grants.rnThe acquisition of an NPS Inventory and GIS database from TVA hasrnimmediately put them at the forefront when in competition with other watershedsrnfor funding.