Watershed Development Commissions

No, existing river basin commissions and watershed development commissions cannot overlap with each other or new ones.

• Flood damage reduction
• Drainage
• Stormwater management
• Recreation
• Water infrastructure purposes (not drinking water or wastewater)
• Water quality improvement (cannot be only addressed issue)

One or more counties pass an ordinance in their county and then get approval from the Natural Resources Commission. For those interested in forming one, please review DNR's Guidelines for Forming a Watershed Development Commission.

The board consists of the following individuals (IC 14-30.5-4-1):

• The county surveyor of each county that is a member of the commission and is entitled to membership on the board
• A second county representative appointed by the county executive
• An individual appointed to represent each second-class city (34,000+ population) within each county. If there are no second-class cities within the county, an individual representing the municipality with the highest population within each member county
• Director of the Department of Natural Resources or the director’s designee

An existing river basin commission that transforms into a watershed development commission may have different board member requirements.

A watershed development commission may impose an annual special assessment up to a certain amount, codified in statue, on each taxable parcel of real property. The amount of money depends on the type of property and is capped at the amount specified by the legislation.

A watershed development commission can use other funding mechanisms such as grants or receiving direct support from a member county. The direct support must equal at least 90% of the amount that the WDC would otherwise receive from annual special assessments.

• Can provide a steady source of funding
• Can tackle water quantity and quality issues
• Can address the whole watershed
• Can work across state lines with agencies on the other side of the border within the same watershed
• Provides opportunities for water technicians and soil and water conservation districts (SWCDs) to provide expert input on issues facing the watershed