A watershed-based environmental and regulatory data analysis system for the forest products industry
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A watershed-based data analysis system was created as a tool for forest product companies to better understand potential implications from environmental regulations. Also known as the Receiving Water Database (RWDB), this data system was designed with the purpose of assisting companies that own pulp and paper mills, wood product facilities, and commercial timberlands by assessing changes in water quality standards, aquatic life criteria, critical habitat designations, watershed-based permitting, and water resource management policies. Assessments using this database system have helped the industry as a whole by providing a unique enviro-regulatory perspective by combining environmental and regulatory information in a watershed-based GIS. The core of the hydrogeographical information is the interagency spatial product known as the National Hydrography Dataset or NHD, which allows for river and stream reach information to be analyzed in relationship to its drainage network.